Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai
by draconichero21
Summary: A direct Sequel to Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society. Two years have past. Ichigo and friends return to the Soul Society as the Vanguard takes rise in Aselia, but there is more going on then meets the eye. Follows the storyline to Knight of Ratatosk
1. Day of Return, Night of the Blood Purge

**(A/N: I wasn't going to start on this series till at least the spring, but, even though I don't celebrate Christmas, starting this series early, at least the first chapter, is a courtesy to my good friend Sony Ninja. I probably won't continue forward with this series much until Bleach itself moves its plot forward a little more. IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society" PLEASE GO READ THAT **_**BEFORE**_** YOU READ THIS. This series is a DIRECT SEQUEL to Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society so continuity carries over. It is NOT a fresh start using the Bleach characters and the 2****nd**** Tales of Symphonia game. Now then, without further ado, here's to the sequel of Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society: Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai)**

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Kubo. Symphonia is owned by NAMCO

* * *

**Prelude**

It has been two years since Lloyd Irving and Ichigo Kurosaki fought side-by-side and helped regenerate the world of Aselia. And it has also been quite a long time since Ichigo and his friends left Aselia to its own devices: the same two years since the heroes fought side by side. However, now that the world is reachable once again, Yamamoto has been sending soul reaper representatives to manage it and watch for hollows. The numbers have started to decrease dramatically over the last six months and whenever that happens it's usually the work of war and rebellion on the horizon.

To investigate, Yamamoto dispatches Rangiku Matsumoto of Squad 10 to Sylvarant and Rukia Kuchiki of Squad 13 to Tethe'alla. Both women have returned reports that amount to the following: With their high level of technological prowess, the Tethe'allan civilization looked down upon the people of Sylvarant as barbarians. The Sylvaranti blamed the Chosen of Regeneration for bringing this world into being, turning their backs on the Church of Martel that supported her. Also strange things had begun to happen to the world itself. Scorching hot deserts were blanketed with snow. Bountiful lakes dried up and withered. Forests burned to ash as glaciers melted into the sea. These phenomena fanned the flames of dissatisfaction within the hearts of the people, leading to the birth of a monster. A resistance organization was formed by the oppressed people of Sylvarant to defend themselves. United against the perceived evils of Tethe'alla and the Church of Martel, they called themselves the Sylvaranti Liberation Front, the Vanguard.

* * *

**Rangiku's pov**

**Late at Night**

**Palmacosta**

About an hour ago Palmacosta was set aflame and had begun to be ransacked by the Vanguard. I contacted Rukia for backup, but Meltokio is quite a long ways away from Palmacosta so I don't know how long it'll be before she gets here.

Meanwhile, not as many people as usual can see us Soul Reapers now that the flow of mana isn't as unstable, though there isn't a consistency between which people can see us and which can't. In my soul form I trot around the city looking to see if I can't gather any information on the vanguard menace. I have been given orders that if I am threatened by said rebels that I am allowed to kill if my life is endangered, if necessary. I stood on a rooftop of a building that wasn't in flames just frowning down at the chaos. It was then that I noticed an attack coming at me from behind and I shunpoed to dodge. My attacker…his identity surprised me.

"L-Lloyd?" What was he doing?

"Hello Rangiku," he said, something was wrong with his demeanor.

"Lloyd what are you…?" I was confused, he had his weapons drawn on me like he was ready to attack me.

"I have my authority from the Church of Martel to bring down judgment upon the city of Palmacosta. Any one who might be considered a threat," he took a stance, "Is to be eliminated."

"Lloyd what are you saying?" I shouted.

"Sorry, but I need to kill you a little," he rushed at me.

"Lloyd! No! Stop! Aagh!"...

* * *

**Rukia's pov**

By the time I got to Palmacosta things had significantly calmed down. I found Matsumoto-fukutaicho, but not in the condition I hoped to find her. She was WIA almost as much as she had been when she was in the winter war, if not worse. She was still conscious. I helped her up a little.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho! Matsumoto-fukutaicho what happened?" I asked her in worry.

"L-Lloyd…Irving," she passed out, blood dribbling from her mouth.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho!" I started to heal her wounds as best I could. I could hardly believe she had been injured this much. And what did Lloyd have to do with what happened to her. He didn't do this to her did he? No. The Lloyd we all knew couldn't have possibly been this ruthless and barbaric as to harm a friend, but then again Matsumoto-fukutaicho and I haven't seen Lloyd or any of our closest friends in the time we've been here. That worries me. Tomorrow I figured we'd go back to Soul Society and check in with Nii-sama and Hitsugaya-taicho. Something really fishy was going on here.

* * *

**The next Day**

Nii-sama, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Captain Hitsugaya and I were all in Nii-sama's office discussing what had happened. Due to her injuries Matsumoto-fukutaicho had a patch over her right eye, a head bandage, a sling for her left arm and her sword hand was in a cast.

"You're sure it was Lloyd Irving who did this to you?" Hitsugaya-taicho asked her.

"He knew my name and he looked exactly like him. He also used Lloyd's abilities. I hate to say it, but the odds don't look good that that wasn't Lloyd," she said solemnly.

"What do you suppose could've happened that could've made Lloyd change so drastically?" Nii-sama asked.

"I think that's what Rukia came here for, to discuss the possibilities," Hitsugaya-taicho said.

"What do you think we should do then? Confronting Lloyd only seems like it will get the sharp tip of his blade pointed at us and Kratos should be able to handle his own son to that effect," Nii-sama stated.

"True, but I feel like there's something more going on than meets the eye," Hitsugaya stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Nii-sama asked.

"I have a hunch that things are going to get pretty chaotic in the world of Aselia, something that we're going to have to get ourselves involved in as a courtesy to the world we helped regenerate," Hitsugaya-taicho explained.

"You don't plan to send the entire fleet we sent before do you?" I asked.

"Of course not," Hitsugaya-taicho responded, "That would take too much time to get everyone to Aselia. We need a small group and we need to send it quick."

"Then here's what we'll do. I'll go with Rukia and Renji back to Aselia. We'll split up and try to gather some information. Meanwhile you can look after your vice captain until she is recovered enough to return to the field. Afterwards make your way to Aselia and we'll gather together and discuss our findings," Nii-sama planned.

"And what if things go wayside?" Hitsugaya-taicho wanted to know.

"There's no telling if that will happen or not. We'll have to improvise if things don't go as planned," Nii-sama said.

"Do you think it will be all right, just the five of us?" I asked, "Shouldn't we get Ichigo into this?"

"It's the summer. Kurosaki Ichigo is probably trying to enjoy his summer break from his first year of college. I say we let him," Hitsugaya-taicho said.

"Agreed," Nii-sama said, "Besides he'll just wind up getting in the way possibly."

"Well, fine. If we do see Sheena we can at least let her know how he's doing," I said.

"Well then, I suppose I have some paperwork to fill out to authorize mine and Renji's travel to Aselia. Rukia will you be ok on your own for awhile?" Nii-sama asked me.

"I'll be careful," I told him.

"Good luck Rukia," Hitsugaya told me.

"Thanks," I said.

* * *

**Karakura Town**

**Ichigo's pov**

Today was Saturday. I had just gotten home from doing some grocery shopping and putting my latest paycheck in the bank and I had finally gotten some time to myself to kick back and relax. I started thinking about how I hadn't seen Sheena in a while. I hadn't been to Aselia since I started college: no time. It's not like I hadn't wanted to see her either, but last summer I had been really busy, not to mention I had lost my powers by that time only to get them back just this past spring. This summer…actually, right now I had no excuse. I smirked and grunted as I got up from the bed. Kon noticed this.

"Hey Ichigo, where are you going?" Kon asked me.

"Aselia," I answered.

"Hey can I come with you this time? You always leave me behind," he complained.

"Why would I take you with me?" I asked him packing my bag with things I normally took on a trip to Aselia, "You're an annoying perverted stuffed animal and I don't need you wrecking my relationship with Sheena."

"Man you are so mean Ichigo you know that. If you're gonna spend the rest of your life with this chick she's gonna find out about me eventually. It may as well be sooner rather than later don't you think?" he asked.

I sighed in defeat, "Fine," I said opening the backpack, "Hop in."

"Yes!" he jumped right in.

"However, you're to be quiet and not do a damn thing unless I need you. No opening my bag from the inside and popping out and no wondering off on your own," I told him.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved as he lay down, "I hear ya." I grumbled and headed down the stairs to the front door. I then jogged to Urahara's place. He opened the door and smiled brightly.

"Oh well this is a surprise! I haven't seen you with a bag like that in close to two years now! How have you been?" Urahara-san asked me.

"Pretty good, college has been a pain in the ass though."

"I can imagine," he chuckled, "So you want me to open the gate to Aselia?"

"Yes, please."

"Ichigo!" I heard a peeved voice. I turned around.

"Oh, hey, Yoruichi-san," I waved.

"I cannot believe you Kurosaki Ichigo. You come here nonchalantly and you head straight for your girlfriend's planet without even saying hello to me," she frowned.

"I just said hi," I told her.

"You wouldn't have if I didn't say anything now would you? Be honest," she questioned. I breathed deeply.

"Well why don't we all go together?" Urahara asked.

"Wait if you guys leave who's going to watch the shop?" I asked.

"Tessai can be in charge, besides I could use some time off anyway," Urahara-san said.

"We promise we won't interfere with your 'private time' with your girlfriend," Yoruichi chuckled.

"We'll just go to the closest bar and pub and get some drinks," Urahara-san said and paused, "There are bars and drinks right?" he asked.

"Plenty."

"Well let's go then."

I followed him and Yoruichi down to the basement and Urahara-san set up the special Senkaimon that went straight to Aselia. "You can go first Ichigo. Shall I send you to Mizuho as usual?" he asked.

"Actually let me go to Luin first. I want to get a gift for Sheena, along with some of the other things I have from college to show her, but put me on the outskirts so I don't freak anyone out," I said.

"You got it," he said, "We'll follow in after you then once you've made your way completely to the other side."

"Whatever," I shrugged off. The gate opened and I walked through thinking about what I would say to Sheena. I knew I'd have to apologize for not coming by last summer or all throughout this past school year and the year before. I hope she didn't hold it against me. When I finally entered past the Senkaimon I started heading towards Luin. I wasn't that far off, but I wasn't that close either. As I made my way towards it someone called out to me.

"Excuse me," he called to me.

I turned around. The guy who had called out to me had long red hair, green eyes, and wore curved, teardrop-framed glasses. He had a sword and an axe sheathed along his waist side and was wearing a lightweight overcoat and leather boots. "What do you want?" I asked, not to keen on starting up a small conversation.

"Aren't you Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked me.

"How do you know who I am?" I asked.

"Your name and reputation precedes you," was all he said. In other words this guy obviously knew me from what I did for the world regeneration. He didn't look like a groupie, but looks can be deceiving.

"Again, what do you want?" I asked him.

"You haven't seen a girl with a red jewel embedded in her forehead by any chance have you?" he asked me.

"No, not really," I said, "I just got here so…"

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten that the soul reapers that assisted in the world regeneration left afterwards. Sorry to inconvenience you," he said to me.

"It's fine," I said, "Why are you looking for such a strange girl anyway?" I asked him.

"Do you need that in order to live?" he asked me. I was silent. "By your silence I can assume you don't. If you do see her though, be sure to tell me."

"Yeah, yeah," I said and continued to walk on. I suddenly noticed the guy was following me. "Any particular reason you're…"

He didn't let me finish, "We're both heading to Luin at the same pace. I'm not following you, not intentionally anyway. We both probably have our own agendas once we get to the town anyway."

"True," I said.

"Anyway we've delayed ourselves long enough," we both then briskly walked towards the town.

"What's your name anyway?" I asked the guy seeing as he knew my name.

"Richter, Richter Abend," he told me.

"Will you be staying in Luin for a while?" I asked him. He looked at me odd. "You know, in case I find that strange girl you're looking for."

"For about a day or so I guess," he said, "It's fine if you don't see her. It's not like I'm demanding that you find her."

_Gotta remember I'm not working right now, _I said to myself. "Right, sorry about that." Richter was silent.

* * *

**Luin**

Upon our arrival in the city Richter and I parted ways and I headed for the store. As I walked by though, I took notice of the shining statue of me standing near the docks. "What the…I didn't agree to this!" I said, agitated. I made a mental note to take things up with the mayor about having that statue taken down before going to Mizuho with whatever I got for Sheena.

I went to the pawnshop and sold a couple of trinkets I had brought with me to get some gald and then went to the accessory shop to buy something for Sheena. I got a bracelet with aquamarine, topaz and moonstone gems carved into a jade ore band. It cost me about 7,000 gald but it was worth it. I exited the store and shut the door behind me only to notice a kid with blond hair, with a single piece sticking up in front, wearing white shorts and a periwinkle top walk up to me.

"U-um, e-excuse me," he sounded like a younger version of me.

"Hm?" I looked over to him.

"Are…are you…Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked me.

"What of it?" I asked.

"My…my name is Emil Castagnier. I…I've heard stories about you. Is it…is it true that you're Lloyd Irving's ultimate rival?" he asked me.

"Rival?" I scratched my head. _I always thought of Lloyd and us as friends. Since when did we become rivals?_

"Hey!" I heard a grumpy old guy call out and then run towards Emil, "You little nuisance, what are you doing talking to someone as important as Kurosaki Ichigo? People like him don't have time to converse with ill behaved brats like you!" He turned towards me, "Sorry, I hope he wasn't causing you any trouble."

"Things were just fine until you butted into our business," I scowled at him.

"You're better off not conversing with him at all, he's a deluded little pipsqueak," the old guy told him.

"And how would you know?" I snapped.

"I'm his uncle," the guy returned.

_Ok, I definitely crossed boundaries there. Still._ "Did you come here to get your nephew away from me or did you need something from me?" I asked.

"Actually it's convenient that you're here. I'm a member of the town guard and monsters I've never seen before have started popping up at the dried up lakebed of Lake Sinoa. Do you think you could take care of them?" he asked me.

_Sheena's waited two years to see me. She can wait at least a few more minutes. _"Sure," I said, "Just give me a minute. Where's the nearest alley way?"

"In between the inn and the pawnshop I guess, why?" Emil's uncle asked me.

"Not your concern," I said and ran off. I grabbed my badge out of the side compartment of my backpack, dragged out Kon, slammed my badge into his forehead and swallowed his pill. I tossed him my bag. "Come with me down to the lakebed," I told him. "I don't trust you to wander around the city. Find someplace safe to watch and so I can get rid of some human hungry monsters."

"Man and here I was hoping I could go to the local pub and hit on some chicks." I whacked him over the head with the flat side of Zangetsu as I unsheathed it.

"Everyone would recognize you as me, and I certain to god as hell don't need you ruining my reputation. Now come on," I grabbed his wrist and used Shunpo to get to the dried lakebed. When I got there I saw Emil and a girl with long, split brown hair, with flower pins in her hair fighting this giant, mutated grizzly bear. They looked like they were having a bit of trouble. Emil had no form at all with his sword fighting and the girl seemed to only know how to use one simple technique. I told Kon to wait for me on the perch we were both on and to change positions if someone or something spotted him. I then ran down to the battlefield and slashed the bear right across the front with a Getsuga empowered Shikai slash. "You two ok?" I asked as the bear fell down, as I put Zangetsu away.

"I-Ichigo?" Emil was surprised to see me.

"What the heck are you doing here anyway Emil?" I asked him, "I didn't think you were the type to seek out danger."

"Well no, but…" he started to explain himself.

Suddenly the girl turned towards Emil, "He's right, you should probably get going," she then added after a pause, "Hey it's you!" She seemed to recognize him. I turned around.

"Huh?" Emil was confused.

"You don't," the girl drew nearer to Emil, "you don't remember me, do you? Maybe I'm wrong? But you look just like him." I had no idea what she was talking about nor did I care, but I wanted to make sure Emil got back to the village safely so I stuck around. He reminded me of Hanataro in so many ways in terms of meekness, but at least he was capable of self-defense. The girl finished her conversation with Emil and then began to take off.

"Um…wait," Emil suddenly called out to her.

"What is it?" she asked, "I'm in a hurry."

"I wanted to thank you for saving me," he said.

_She must've shown up before I did_, I figured.

"My name's Emil. So, um, what's your name?" he asked the girl.

"I'm Marta," she said. "Is that it?"

"If it's dangerous here then...maybe you should leave too," Emil seemed concerned for her. I could tell he was a little flustered showing concern and I stifled my chortling by making it seem like I had something stuck in my throat.

Marta looked at Emil and then blushed, leaning forward with her hands behind her back, "If things get dangerous will you save me again?"

"B-but Ichigo was the one who saved both of us," Emil stammered.

Marta giggled, "You don't remember, do you? I'm sorry to confuse you. But I really have to get going. Take care of yourself Emil!" She ran off. As she did her hair flew in the breeze and I saw a red jewel encrusted into her forehead.

_That's the girl Richter's looking for, _my eyes widened.

"U-um," Emil turned towards me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Thanks for helping out," he told me.

"No sweat," I said rubbing the back of my neck, "Your uncle told me to take care of some monsters so that's exactly what I was doing. You want me to escort you back to town?"

"Yes, please do!" he seemed almost thankful that I was doing so. "S-sorry!"

_There are some weird things going on with this kid, _I thought to myself.

"Just wait for me a moment," I told him. I signaled Kon to the shipwreck not far off from where Emil and I were, went behind it and got back into my body and met back up with Emil. "Come on let's go."

"Y-yeah," He nodded and we headed back to Luin.

* * *

**(A/N: So this is my Christmas Present to all you ppl who enjoyed Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society. I don't know when I'll continue with the sequel, but rest assured it won't be for a while, maybe a couple of weeks 3-6 months at the most. Anyway please review, subscribe and fave if you like this and if you are lost or confused and you HAVE READ Tales of Bleach: Unreal Society I would be happy to answer your questions. Anyway see ya!)**


	2. Another Destiny Changed Forever

**(A/N: So I thought I wouldn't be working on this until Bleach got a little more well developed…I lied. I've already come this far with disregarding canon…for the most part, I may as well continue)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

With Emil tagging along with me the two of us went back to Luin. Emil's Uncle suddenly spotted him and started yelling at him.

"H-hey did you leave town and cause trouble? What did I tell you earlier? Someone as important as Ichigo the Great doesn't have time to spend with a snot nosed brat like you. Let go of your deluded dreams of getting back at Lloyd Irving and go home! When I get there so help me god I…"

"Now hold up a minute, Emil hasn't done anything, and what's this about getting back at Lloyd?"

Emil's uncle sighed. "My nephew keeps going on and on about how Lloyd Irving killed his parents. Ever since he came to Luin from Palmacosta he's been nothing but trouble saying how great you are and wanting to ask you to get back at Lloyd. Lloyd Irving isn't responsible for any of that. It's thanks to the both of you that Luin was saved from the Desians. A hero like that doesn't go around murdering people!" I looked at Emil who had his head hung low.

"Would you excuse us a minute?" I asked.

"Yeah go home to your room, boy no one…"

"I was talking to you," I said to Emil's uncle.

"Wh-what?" He was infuriated.

"Let Emil and me have a little chat," I insisted.

"You'd be wasting your time. He speaks nothing but nonsense," The old guy told me.

I tightened my glare. "I'll be the judge of that."

"F-fine. If you want to waste your time with a dumbass like him, who am I to stop you?" Emil's uncle said. "Did you take care of the monsters?"

"Yeah, big one out in the middle of the lakebed. Your welcome."

"Thanks, here's a little something for your trouble," Emil's uncle placed a small pouch in my hand.

* * *

**Ichigo obtained 300 Gald**

* * *

"I must return to my work," Emil's uncle left and the two of us were left alone.

"So what's all this about Lloyd?" I asked.

"Lloyd Irving killed my parents and no one believes me! I can't believe everyone takes the side of that murderer!" Emil shouted.

"Murderer?" I scratched my head, "Are you sure you mean Lloyd?"

Emil leaned forward, depressed, "You don't believe me either do you?"

"I didn't say I didn't believe you."

"Then you do?" Emil asked hopefully.

I put up my hand to silence him. He stood at attention. "I don't believe you, but I don't not believe you either." Emil sighed in depression. "Look, I'm headed to find Richter about that girl Marta and then I'm going to Mizuho to go and find my girlfriend. After that I'll go look for Lloyd and see if I can see what the deal is."

"Huh, that strange guy asked you to find Marta to?" Emil questioned.

"Oh you know him?" I asked.

"Ah well you see…" Emil explained to me everything that happened in front of the fountain and everything that had happened up until I found him and Marta down by the lakebed. "…and that's when you showed up."

"Well let's go together then."

"All right," Emil agreed with a nod and the two of us searched high and low for Richter. We found him at the Mayor's house.

"Oh, Emil, Ichigo. It's interesting to see you both together," Richter said.

"Yeah, big coincidence," I said, eager to change the subject, "We found that girl you were looking for. Both of us saw her."

Richter grabbed my shoulders and began shaking me, "You saw Marta? Where did you see her?"

Emil answered for me. "A-at the lakebed, d-down where it's all dried up."

Richter let me go and turned towards the Mayor, "Mayor I'd like to take Emil with me to look for Marta." Richter looked at me, "You too, if you have the time."

"Yeah, sure," I agreed.

"All right, let's head down to the lakebed then, I'll follow your lead," Richter said to us.

"Fair enough. Follow me," I said.

* * *

**Lake Sinoa**

Emil and I led Richter to where we saw Marta, "She was right here." I pointed.

"She's probably further in, she may have gone into the cave," Richter said.

"But there are monsters in the cave," Emil said.

"So?" Richter returned. Emil whined.

"If you're afraid to fight monsters then you can wait here," Richter said and then turned towards me, "Although I doubt you're worried about a few measly monsters."

"Um…about that," I said unfastening my bag, "You both know, I'm assuming, about my kind and how we function."

"Yeah come to think of it you're not wearing a Shihakusho or carrying your usual weapon," Richter noticed.

"Yeah well I didn't come here thinking I was going to have to fight, but I came prepared just in case," I unzipped my bag and Kon popped out.

"Hey it's that kid from before," He noticed Emil.

"What's that thing?" Emil asked.

"His name is Kon. He's a mod soul used for keeping my body safe when I transfer into my soul form." I took out my badge, slammed it into Kon's forehead and swallowed the pill. I emerged into Soul Form. "Like so."

"Huh, how interesting," Richter commented.

I turned around to look at Kon, who was now possessing my body, "Get to a safe location and watch out for monsters. DO NOT go into town."

"Man you never let me do anything fun," he complained.

"Hey if normal people knew there were two of me around their heads would spin. Not to mention you don't act anything like me," I scolded him.

"Well maybe you oughta loosen up a little," Kon argued.

"Damn it Kon this is not up for debate. Ugh you know what…" I took out my cell phone and dialed.

"What's that thing?" Emil asked.

"It's called a cell phone," I said, "People in my world use it to connect to others over long distances."

"Sounds like something practitioners of magitechnology would want to work with to create," Richter commented.

I nodded silently as the dial tone rang.

"Who are you calling anyway?" Emil asked.

"Someone to watch this idiot so my reputation doesn't go into the dirt," I answered.

"O-oh," Emil answered.

"Ichigo, what's the matter, date not going well?" Urahara joked when he picked up.

"Quiet you, I need you watch Kon. How fast can you or Yoruichi get over here to pick him up and keep an eye on him," I asked.

"We're in Izoold right now. Send him our way and we'll look after him," Urahara told me.

"Right Izoold, got it," I answered and hung up. I looked at Kon, "You're going to Izoold and you're staying with Urahara and Yoruichi until I come get you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah I hear ya. Man you are just no fun at all Ichigo," Kon said and left.

"You and your mod soul don't get along?" Emil questioned tilting his head to the side.

"It's not so much that we don't get along as the fact that he's just a pain in the ass," I answered rubbing the back of my neck, "Anyway let's head into the cave."

"Sounds good to me," Richter said taking the initiative to lead the way.

At the entrance to the cave Emil's uncle and the rest of the watch were all gathered around. His uncle took one look at Emil and blew a gasket.

"You came back again? What's wrong with you, you demonic little brat?" Alba shouted. The moment Emil shirked back like a frightened rabbit I could automatically tell the direction this was headed in.

I stepped in front of him, "I-Ichigo?"

"Look," I said to Emil's Uncle, "Emil and I were asked to accompany Richter to check out the dried out lakebed and subsequently the cave for someone. Leave your family matters at home." As bad as my dad was, at least he knew to keep our physical squabbles inside the house. Sure he still acted like a demented nutcase even in public, but any time he and I crossed fists it was always in the privacy of our own home. Emil's Uncle was silent. "I knew it, you don't have the stomach to talk back to me, do you?"

"Ichigo we're not here to pick a fight, let's get going," Richter told me.

"Right, sorry," I backed off and said softly enough only Emil's Uncle could hear it, "You're lucky." I turned towards Emil and jerked my head towards the cave, "Let's go Emil."

"Wait! There are monsters in there!" Emil's Uncle interjected suddenly.

"Your point?" I asked.

"Well I mean…I don't think you'd have any trouble Ichigo, but leave Emil here with us," Emil's Uncle said.

"Didn't you just call him a demonic little brat?" I asked. "If your concerned about his safety why not just come out and say it? Either way it's not your decision what he does. Emil was asked to accompany us so whether he comes inside the cave or not is his own choice." I looked at Emil, "Are you in or are you out?" Emil seemed in inner turmoil. "Come on. With every moment we waste here Richter's getting ahead of us."

Emil clenched his fist and shouted at his uncle, "I'm going!" and then ran off into the cave.

"Emil wait!" his uncle charged after him. I stopped him by blocking the entrance with Zangetsu.

"This is a decision Emil made for himself, respect it," I told Emil's Uncle and then walked inside the cave myself putting Zangetsu back along my back. By the time I caught up with Richter and Emil it looked like they had just pummeled a monster together.

"Is it typical of you to fall behind?" Richter asked.

"Funny," I said. "Shall we keep moving?" Emil and Richter nodded and we kept moving forward until we reached a door with strange patterning on it.

"Master Richter!" A cry came out of nowhere.

"What was that?" Emil asked, panicked.

"Probably just a monster's howl," Richter said, "Don't worry about it."

"Of course I'm going to worry," Emil said.

"Then you can wait here," I told him.

"Actually perhaps its best if you stay here. Somebody's gotta make sure the kid doesn't become a monster's next meal," Richter told me.

"Sure, go on ahead," I said to Richter. The guy went inside. I looked at Emil. _Maybe this will give me a chance to ask more about Lloyd._

"Say Emil about—"

"Aaah!" Before I could finish I heard someone scream.

"Was that Marta?" Emil asked.

"Sure sounded like it," I said. "You ready to play hero?"

"U-umm…b-but…"

"Look if you want to stand around let her become lunch go ahead," I drew out my sword, "I've got other plans."

Emil drew out the short sword I had seen him use earlier, "No! I'll fight with you! I can't just ignore this."

"Works for me," I said and pushed open the stone door. Inside Marta and Richter were facing off against each other in what looked like a battle to the death. No one had been injured…yet. "What's going on here?" I shouted.

"This is why you were looking for her? So you could kill her?" Emil asked.

"That's right," Richter said.

"Why would you do such a thing?" I raged.

"Because she is trying to awaken Ratatosk the Demon Lord," Richter said.

"Demon Lord? What are you talking about?" Emil asked.

"I agree it's quite a foolish name, but 'demon lord' is the most appropriate term to describe what he is. If Ratatosk awakens, the world will be destroyed," Richter stated.

Marta shook her head. "No, you're wrong! Ratatosk is not a demon! He's the lord of all monsters. He won't destroy the world!"

"I'm not interested in semantics," Richter said. I didn't know what I had just gotten myself into, but I knew one thing for certain, someone was in the right and someone was in the wrong and until I found out what was what, things were not going to play out like they were. I raised Zangetsu into the air and swung down with a mid powered Getsuga Tensho, separating Marta and Richter by firing it in between them. "Marta, run!" I shouted.

She heard my voice and ran off. "Ichigo do you realize what you've done?" Richter asked angrily.

"Whatever this Ratatosk person is, what does killing Marta have to do with it? Why does it always have to come down to violence?" I stood in front of him with my sword ready.

"I do not have time for this," Richter said ticked off, "Aqua! Show yourself!" Richter shouted. A weird looking creature that looked like a Mermaid crossed with a cat appeared.

"You called Master Richter," she said.

"Take care of Ichigo and Emil so they can't pursue, but don't overdo it," Richter said and ran off.

"Hey! Get back here!" I ran after Richter, but Aqua barred my path. "Move!"

"I cannot do that, Master Richter has asked me to remove you two from his presence. And that's what I'm going to do. Go my minion! Attack!" Two creatures appeared, one was a giant water elemental, and the other was an overgrown turtle.

"Perfect, I can beat these things up and have turtle soup," I said. I charged only to be blasted with water outside the door. The high pressurized blast knocked my straight into a cave wall and past the door. Emil fled in terror after me. The door shut behind us locking with a magic emblem. Drenched I ran at the door and tried to cut it with Zangetsu, but a force field repelled it. "Damn it Aqua! Open this door now!" I shouted.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Emil asked.

"I don't know, I _would_ just want to leave and go about my business, but I can't just ignore this trouble going on right in front of me," I said. "I could try fighting, but I don't think I could fight both those creatures without my full power, and doing so would cause the whole cave to collapse."

"Then what do we do?" Emil whined.

"You must forge a pact, came a voice," Suddenly a black, dog looking thing, with a long tail, the tip shaped like a peacock plume's tip, along with it having strange purplish markings on its body, appeared, floating in midair.

"A t-talking monster?" Emil gasped.

"I am not a monster, like Aqua I am a centurion, Centurion Tenebrae," the creature said.

"Centurion Tenebrae?" Emil tilted his head.

Tenebrae spoke right to Emil, "You could never defeat the monster on the other side of this door as you are now. Forge a pact to become a Knight of Ratatosk. Then you will be able to accept Lord Ratatosk's power in battle."

"What do you mean?" Emil asked.

"There's no time to explain. Lady Marta is in danger," Tenebrae said.

"There's always time for explanations," I said. "Talking is a free action."

"What _are_ you talking about?" Tenebrae asked.

"Never mind," I said.

Tenebrae looked back at Emil, "Will you become a Knight of Ratatosk?"

"But…you're just a monster—a Centurion, I mean—and I...I don't know if—"

"Aroooooooooooooooooo!"

Emil recognized the long high-pitched howl Tenebrae just made, "That howl. Were you the one calling me?"

Tenebrae was quick to explain, "Lady Marta was looking for you. You saved her life and she has chosen you to be a knight."

"M-Me?" Emil stuttered.

"Yes. Now forge the pact," Tenebrae pretty much demanded.

"Hold on," I said, "You can't just show up out of no where and force things on a kid like this. What about what he wants?"

"What I…want?" Emil questioned to himself.

I just realized that Tenebrae's meeting with Emil just now was awfully similar to my first meeting with Rukia. If Emil decided to form this pact... "Emil," I said, much more calmly, "If you undergo this pact. There's a chance your entire destiny could be changed. Do you really want to do that?"

"My destiny…will be changed?" Emil tilted his head.

"You sound like you talk from experience," Tenebrae stated.

"I do," I said, "Emil what will you do? Are you happy with the way your life is right now or…"

He cut me off, "If I forge this pact, could I get strong enough to defeat Lloyd Irving?" he asked.

"It's possible if you make a hard enough endeavor," Tenebrae said.

"I'll do it then," Emil said, "I'll forge the pact!"

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

As Aqua stood guarding the area Richter had asked her too with her two minions. The door she had sealed up suddenly came bursting open. The first individual she noticed was Tenebrae, "Spiteful Tenebrae! What are you doing here?" Aqua sounded peeved.

"Let's go," the Centurion said nonchalantly as Ichigo stood next to him.

"What? You wanna fight? You're going to regret this," Aqua said getting pent up.

"The only one who's going to regret this is you!"

"That sounded rather intimidating Ichigo," Tenebrae looked up at the adolescent Soul Reaper.

"I didn't say anything. That was…" Ichigo looked back to see Emil walk into the room. Everything about him had changed, from his stance to his outfit. "Emil?"

The blonde's eyes flung open. They were a fiery, dark crimson. The symbol of Ratatosk was etched on the irises of his eyes. He reached behind his back and pulled out a sword. It was not his usual makeshift sword, but rather one with real craftsmanship. It looked like a standard long sword. Emil held it out in front of him, taking a stance. His knees were bent and right leg led forward. His right arm, which was his sword arm, was extended out over his right leg. He looked completely battle ready. "Now, come on!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Emil awakens as a Knight of Ratatosk. And yes, before people start questioning I am going to be poking jokes from here on out about Emil and Ichigo sounding the same. They have the same voice actor [Johnny Yong Bosch] and they sound exactly the same in English. Anyway I am done for now. I will see you all later.)**


	3. Pact Magic

**(A/N: And we're back. So as not to obscure the action, I will say nothing else)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

_What happened to Emil? _Ichigo wondered. _It's like his personality did a complete 180. He looks so battle ready, but before he was more timid and passive than Orihime. What's going on?_

Emil rushed forward and attacked Aqua's tortoise minion with his sword dealing a decent amount of damage. "Demon Fang!" A blast wave of yellow energy fired forward from Emil's sword and forced the minion back into Aqua's summoning system.

Ichigo's eyes widened. _Such power, when Lloyd first started out his demon fang wasn't nearly as powerful. Is this just the power of Ratatosk, or maybe…_Ichigo's train of thought was stopped short when Aqua's water elemental attacked him. The teen blocked the strike with Zangetsu, but was pushed back. "That's it!" Ichigo shouted, "You're asking for it." He channeled energy into his sword and swung it forward, "Getsuga Tensho!" The blast was mid powered, so as not to collapse the cave, but it was still damaging enough to severely injure Aqua's water elemental. Aqua herself winced, connected to the monster by a linkage in mana.

Emil took notice of Ichigo's strike. _Hmm, that was quite an interesting technique, and he's exuding such powerful darkness mana. With Tenebrae under my command, _Emil put his sword behind his back and charged mana into his body. _I wonder if I could replicate it._ Emil watched Ichigo contend with Aqua's Water Elemental, now wary of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho it was taking means to dodge the strikes or deflect them. Ichigo was also forced to weaken his blows so damage to the cavern didn't cause the whole cave's collapse. Emil closed his eyes, focusing on the enemy and then felt a pulse from Ichigo. _There, got it. _"Ichigo! Move!" Emil shouted. The teen answered the blonde's command. Black energy, with a golden outline flashed from Emil's sword. "Demonic!" Emil moved his sword arm forward to fire off the energy at the water elemental, "Moon Fang!" The blast went blazing towards the Water Elemental completely annihilating it. The overcharge of energy caused Aqua to fall unconscious as the defeated monster returned to her summoning system. "That was too easy," Emil scoffed putting away his sword. Suddenly there was a fluctuation of energy around him and his eyes returned to their natural green color. He took one look at Aqua passed out on the ground and took a half a step back. "What just happened?" His voice wasn't entirely mirroring Ichigo's anymore either.

Tenebrae walked up to the young blonde, "Lord Ratatosk's power took hold of you."

"That was the power of Ratatosk?" Ichigo questioned, "Emil seemed like he became totally different, and how in the hell did you create your own version of my Getsuga Tensho like that?"

"Huh?" Emil was confused, but then put the pieces together and said, "Oh you mean how I copied your attack to an extent? I don't know really, I just concentrated really hard."

"It is a bit interesting that Lord Ratatosk would grant you the power to tap into the power of humans," Tenebrae said.

"Well the power I draw on is of my Zanpakuto," Ichigo held up his blade.

"Zanpakuto?" Tenebrae was confused.

"You don't know about Soul Reapers? That's interesting, Origin the summon spirit seemed to know all about how Soul Reapers function," Emil said.

"Lord Ratatosk, and we Centurions have been asleep for several millennia Ichigo, so anything that happened during that time is unknown to us," Tenebrae said.

"Oh, well I'll explain it later I guess. Right now we should focus on rescuing Marta," Ichigo said.

"I concur," Tenebrae said.

"Wait, what happened to Aqua? I didn't even touch her," Emil said.

"Centurions themselves do not fight. They employ monster servants to battle in their place. If their monsters are defeated, the Centurion's power will also fade. Right now she is only unconscious," Tenebrae said.

"Oh that's good, I didn't want to hurt her," Emil said.

"Boy aren't you sympathetic," Ichigo grunted. "Anyway let's move on." Tenebrae and Emil agreed and they moved on to chase after Richter.

As they did, Tenebrae noticed a small purple creature, holding a knife, with a whitened face and little devil horns, moseying on about its business through the cave, "Ah an Imp. That'll do nicely."

"Hey. what's the hold up?" Ichigo stopped and turned towards Tenebrae.

"Emil, let us forge a pact," Tenebrae said.

"Pact?" Emil tilted his head.

"Your power as a Knight of Ratatosk is granted to you by Lord Ratatosk himself. However, he is currently in a deep slumber. As a result, the power he grants you is very weak," Tenebrae explained.

"This is considered weak?" Ichigo questioned, "Emil's stronger right now then Lloyd was when I first met him."

"Really?" Emil's mood brightened up like a 1000-watt bulb at the idea that he was starting off more powerful than Lloyd.

"Yeah, but you've got a long way to go if you want to get to where he is now, If I can beat you, which I could under normal circumstances, there's almost no chance you'd win," Ichigo explained to the blonde. Emil whined and bent forward, feeling down again.

"Do not worry," Tenebrae said, "Lord Ratatosk is very powerful. As you gain experience and grow your abilities, you will eventually be able to grow exponentially more powerful."

"But how am I supposed to get stronger?" Emil asked.

"It's simple. We Centurions share a bond with Lord Ratatosk. If power is restored to the Centurions, Lord Ratatosk's strength will return as well. We can accomplish this by forging pacts with monsters," Tenebrae explained.

"How does that work?" Emil asked.

"As I explained earlier, Centurions do not engage in battle themselves. We use monsters under our control. A Centurion's power depends upon the number and strength of the monsters it employs. I am the Centurion of Darkness, so any pact you make with dark elemental monsters will bring them under my control, and make me more powerful in the process, and as a Knight of Ratatosk you will awaken to new power as well," Tenebrae stated.

"Now it makes sense," Ichigo said, earning Tenebrae and Emil's attention, "When we went to the Temple of Darkness, on the Journey of Regeneration, my Zanpakuto Spirit, which is the spirit that resides inside my sword and allows me to utilize its power, materialized because I'm darkness affiliated. If we consider the idea that, in Aselia that Zanpakuto spirits could be the same as monsters then…"

"Yes, I see the connection," Tenebrae realized, "And if we assume that your spirits cannot directly form a pact with Emil then as long as those spirits choose to consider him their ally then…"

"Then I can tap into their powers right?" Emil asked.

"Yes, but I think only if you had the correct Centurion under your command could you use a Zanpakuto Spirit's power. That is to say, right now, you probably couldn't use a wind elemental Zanpakuto spirit's abilities without the proper Centurion being awakened," Tenebrae stated.

"Oh that makes sense," Emil said. "So the more monsters I from pacts with the stronger I'll become?"

"Yes, I believe forming pacts with monsters is not limited to their elemental affiliation, that is to say you could form a bond with any sort of monster and you would gain in power," Tenebrae said.

"Aqua's a centurion too isn't she, will I get stronger as she collects more monsters?" Emil asked.

"No, Aqua has chosen to sever her bond with Lord Ratatosk. As such, even if she acquires more monster servants, your powers will not increase," Tenebrae explained. "You may enter into pacts with monsters without the Centurion of the same element. Later, when you befriend the appropriate Centurions, your strength will increase accordingly."

"Oh, I see," Emil said.

"So how do these pact things work anyway? Is it anything like forming a pact with a Summon Spirit?" Ichigo asked.

"Like this," Tenebrae ran forward and smacked the Imp on the head with his paw and then ran back towards Emil and Ichigo. The imp came towards Ichigo and Emil, slightly pissed off.

"Wh-what did you do that for?" Emil asked.

"In order to make a pact, you must first prove you are more powerful than your opponent. You must force them to yield to you in battle," Tenebrae said.

"B-but," Emil trembled.

"No sweat," Ichigo stepped forward, "I'll…"

Tenebrae blocked Ichigo with his tail, "In order for Emil to bring the monster under his power he must be the one to subdue it in battle. There will be monsters we will encounter that will become attracted to the power of a Knight of Ratatosk and thereby will engage in a battle to test his limits. If Emil can overcome those limits the pact magic will activate and the monster will fall under his command."

"So Emil has to do this on his own?" Ichigo asked.

"No sweat," Ichigo recognized the mirroring of his voice, "This thing has nothing on me." Emil charged forward after the imp and slashed it in half, right down the middle with his sword. Ichigo was shocked, but Tenebrae did not flinch.

"Wasn't killing it, _not _supposed to happen?" Ichigo asked.

"On the contrary," Tenebrae said, "Watch." A large magic circle appeared beneath Emil's feet. He was not in the center, rather on one side. The imp he had just defeated reformed on the other. Violet shadows appeared up and around the magic circle. "This is the pact magic," Tenebrae explained. "Emil must concentrate on subduing the Imp's will to bring it under his control."

Ichigo watched as Emil, who seemed to understand what he was doing engage the Imp in a mental battle. "In the name of Lord Ratatosk I command you," Emil thrust out his open palm towards the Imp, "Obey me!" A blast of red and black energy fired forward from Emil's hands and surrounded the Imp. The imp was surrounded in a spherical energy prison and the pact magic disappeared. The sphere solidified into a white stone like object, with a purple etching of the emblem of darkness on it. Tenebrae lifted up his tail and telekinetically called forth the imp and dispersed the ball.

"And now the imp is under our control," Tenebrae said.

"That's amazing," Emil was back to his normal self.

_Man talk about mood whiplash_. Ichigo thought to himself.

"Can we chase after Marta now?" Ichigo asked. "Richter may have her already."

"Because Ratatosk's Core is embedded in Lady Marta's forehead I can sense her presence regardless of her location, within a certain radius. She doesn't appear to be under any physical harm or stress so we have time to collect monsters to form pacts with," Tenebrae explained.

"Well, as long as you know what you're doing," Ichigo said. He, Tenebrae, and Emil then continued on.

It wasn't long before Tenebrae spotted another monster. It had four legs, gray fur, yellow eyes and a canine-like appearance. "Ah, there's a wolf- just what we're looking for. Try making a pact with him Emil," Tenebrae said to the blonde.

"Ok," Emil agreed.

"But first," Tenebrae held up his tail and summoned the sphere from earlier, "Imp, my servant, awaken," Tenebrae did a backflip and let the sphere sail towards the ground. In a cloud of smoke the imp appeared.

"Why did you summon the imp?" Ichigo asked.

"In place of Emil himself he may use his monster servants to try and contend with the monsters in his place. He may also use them in conjunction with forming the pact with a monster," Tenebrae explained, "During the pact formation Emil can draw extra energy upon his servant. If the monster he has selected and the monster he is trying to subdue are compatible monster types, then the pact will be easier to form. So Emil will you fight or will you let the Imp fight in your place?" Tenebrae asked.

"Um I think that decision has already been made," Ichigo said pointing to the fact that the wolf and Emil's Imp were already locking mental horns. The wolf leapt at the imp in an attempt to bite it, but the imp levitated out of the way. A small magic circle formed beneath the imp, as if it were casting a spell. The wolf leapt at it again, but before it could reach the imp a small blast of dark energy built up and blasted the wolf, eliminating it from view.

"Wow, it won," Emil said, only for the magic circle to appear and for Emil to revert to his Ratatosk possessed persona. The wolf appeared and the imp teleported next to Emil, feeding him its energy. "In the name of Lord Ratatosk I command you," Emil stretched out his hand, palm open, "Obey me!" The red energy surrounded the wolf and sealed it inside a ball of energy which solidified and was emblazoned with the red emblem of fire. Tenebrae sealed the imp and called both monsters to him and dispersed their seals into his summoning system.

"Wait, that wolf is a fire type, how are you able to use it?" Ichigo asked.

"Just because a monster is not my type does not mean I cannot control it if Emil has formed a bond with it. While it is true that I, as a Centurion of Darkness, only gain power with every pact Emil forms with a monster of darkness, I am still able to command monsters of other elements, as are the rest of the Centurions. It is how we keep the balance. Sometimes we trade commands of monsters of different elements with monsters of our own element or just out of necessity," Tenebrae explained.

Ichigo looked up, with his eyes only, with a dull expression, _Why does this seem like a handheld game I constantly used to play as a kid?_ Suddenly there was an explosion of energy farther into the cave.

"What was that?" Emil wondered.

"I don't know, but let's stay on our guard," Ichigo, Emil and Tenebrae rushed forward to see Richter collapsed on the ground.

"Richter!" Emil ran forward to check on the older man.

"Ugh," Richter groaned.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"Lloyd Irving…he…" Richter groaned and then passed out.

"Richter!" Emil was concerned.

"It's all right. The attack missed his vital organs," Tenebrae told Emil, "Just leave him here and he will be fine. It is more important to go after Lady Marta."

"I can't just leave him here. We need to tell someone," Emil said.

"Then you go after Marta and I'll get help," Ichigo asked.

"No I should get help, you'd have a better chance against Lloyd then I would," Emil said.

"If I know Lloyd he won't kill either you or Marta, he's not that type of person," Ichigo told Emil. Emil didn't seem convinced, keeping a converged gaze on Ichigo. "Don't worry, I'll be back before things get out of hand. Besides your Marta's knight. It's imperative you arrive on the scene first."

"Ichigo, thank you," Tenebrae said.

"No problem," Ichigo stated and left the area via Shunpo.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I used Shunpo to get back through the cave faster. I decided to first check if Aqua had regained consciousness. She seemed loyal to Richter so despite our conflict earlier she'd be willing to listen to reason…I hoped.

She was awake and I called out to her, "Aqua!"

"Oh, it's you, what do you want?" she snapped.

"You have to come with me, Richter's been hurt," I told her.

"Damage you caused I bet," she brooded.

"No, when we got there he was already on the ground, Lloyd attacked him you—"

"Wait Lloyd," Aqua seemed shaken for a moment, but regained her composure quickly, "You came back all this way just to tell me that. You're not half bad. Nowhere near as cool as Master Richter, but still," she giggled a bit.

"Just come on," I did not have time for this.

"Right," Aqua followed me, as though swimming through air, as we I led her to where Richter was. "Master Richter!" she bent down next to him.

"You think you can take care of him from here?" I asked.

Aqua nodded, "Yes, go on ahead, we'll be fine."

I nodded in understanding and then headed up the steps in front of me into the next room of the cave. I saw Lloyd facing off against Marta, Emil and the wolf and imp we had formed a pact with earlier, or rather the aftermath of it. Marta and Emil were unconscious and Tenebrae was lying down like Aqua had been after we had eliminated her monster servants. Poor guys never knew what hit them. Marta and Emil hadn't suffered any severe damage. Lloyd went drastically easy on them it seemed. He was still holding his swords, so the fight must've just ended. He also seemed to have gotten his red outfit back. I guess green just wasn't his color.

"I saved the world, do not screw with me," he said crossing his arms over his body and sheathing his swords on either side of him.

"Being cool doesn't suit you," I told him.

"I-Ichigo," he must not have noticed me, till just now.

"Surprised to see me? I guess you would be considering its been two years," I walked farther into the room. "I heard some pretty shocking stuff from that kid currently passed out on the ground. Said you killed his parents. I'm not going to judge you for knocking them all out, if I had a couple of strangers pointing weapons at me I'd fight back too." I looked around. "Hey wait a minute, where's Colette? Didn't you two go off on an Exsphere journey together? That's what Sheena told me."

"So then I assume you haven't heard about it yet. The Palmacosta Blood Purge," Lloyd said.

"I just showed up today," I said, "I'm not here on orders from Soul Society."

"Then why are you battle ready?" Lloyd asked.

"Long story," I said, "But what's this about a Blood Purge?"

"It's nothing, never mind," Lloyd turned his back to me to pick up a glowing, white, spiral shell like object floating on an altar.

"Is that what you came here for?" I asked Lloyd.

Lloyd turned around almost seeming on edge, "Indeed."

"Lloyd this isn't like you to talk little and act cold. You're not your father. What's going on?" I asked.

"I have no need to explain," Lloyd said snatching up the object.

I shunpoed in front of him, "And now you're mimicking him directly. What's going on Lloyd? I can understand a couple of strangers, but we're friends aren't we? Say something damn it!"

Lloyd pocketed the object and drew out his weapons, "Move, Ichigo."

"What the hell?" I shouted. "I leave for two years and you turn into a complete jerk. What's happened to you Lloyd? Say something!"

"I'm only going to ask you one more time. Move!" Lloyd repeated.

I drew out Zangetsu. "Not until you tell me what's going on!"

"You're not going to release Bankai?" Lloyd questioned, "You know that at this point you'd never hold a candle to me without it." He glanced back at Emil and Marta, "Oh I get it. You're worried that your reiatsu might crush them, or this cavern, if it becomes too intense." He took a stance, "How very like you."

"Lloyd you don't have to do this! Just tell me what's going on!" I shouted.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like talking," Lloyd rushed at me. Without my Bankai his movements were too fast for me to keep up with and before I knew it I was beaten, sweat dripping from my brow at an incredible rate. I was breathing hard and I was using Zangetsu just to keep me from collapsing onto the ground. Lloyd, who still had plenty of energy, walked up and out of the cavern. "If you're not here on orders of Soul Society, I suggest you do whatever you came here and stay out of my way." Lloyd then walked up the stairs and disappeared out of sight and out of sense. I was so exhausted I collapsed onto the ground and blacked out.

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah not much to say in terms of how things went. And yes Lloyd is now strong enough that he can beat Ichigo if he's not using Bankai, though that should be obvious if you paid attention all throughout ToB: US. Lloyd was a little less cold to Ichigo than he is to Genis at the Triet Ruins in the game, but considering Ichigo's current ignorance on the big picture that's understandable. Fans of this series will notice that these chapters are much shorter than its original counterpart and well…that's just how things are. Anyway see you all later).**


	4. One Big Complicated Mess

**(A/N: Credit goes to L002 for inspiring Ichigo's reaction to Lloyd's poster)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I woke up lying on my back.

"I think he's coming to," I heard Marta's voice. I opened my eyes to see her and Emil hunched over me. I sat up and groaned clutching my head.

"Are you feeling okay?" Emil asked me.

"I've been better," I said.

"What happened?" Marta wanted to know.

I stood up. "I came in here and saw you all passed out on the ground after getting trounced by Lloyd. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he turned his weapons on me. And here I thought we're supposed to be friends. I'm going to track him down and pummel some sense into him."

"Never mind that now," Tenebrae said. "Lady Marta the core is missing."

"If you mean that white thing, Lloyd snatched it up," Ichigo said.

"He took it?" Marta cried out.

"Yeah, why, what's the big deal?" I asked.

"The big deal?" Tenebrae got annoyed, "The big deal is that Centurion Lumen's core is essential to our journey. Lady Marta, let's hurry. You and I must go after Lloyd."

"Right," she agreed, and then turned to look at Emil with flushed cheeks, beaming, "Thanks for saving me Emil."

"But I didn't do much of anything," Emil said depressingly, "You should be thanking Ichigo not me. He's the one who…" I whacked Emil at the back side of the neck. "Ow!"

"When a lady compliments you, you should accept it gracefully, no sense in being humble," I told Emil.

"I'm sorry," he said timidly.

"You don't need to apologize for it," I exasperated.

"And besides," Marta said, continuing, "You did save me. You became a knight, a Knight of Ratatosk. That's why you were able to save me, right? I always thought that you would make a wonderful knight! It's true! That's what I thought, ever since the first time we met." Emil was confused. Marta giggled, "It's okay! I guess that it just wasn't as memorable for you. But honestly I'm very grateful to you for saving me. What would I have done without you?" If Emil turned any redder we'd need a 257th color to add to the spectrum of light.

"Lady Marta I hate to be a nag, but time is of the essence," Tenebrae told her.

"I know," she said plainly as she turned to face him and then resumed her concentration back to Emil and me. "Could you two help us, just until we make it out of this place?"

"Sure, we might as well stick together," I said.

"Not a problem," Emil agreed.

I then noticed a yellow object gleaming next to a bunch of rocks. I went over and picked it up. It was some form of mask, "What's this?" I wondered.

"Lloyd was wearing that mask when I encountered him," Marta said.

"Lloyd was wearing this thing?" I questioned examining the mask from all sides, "The kid may have poor fashion sense already as it is, but this thing is just plain tacky." I looked through the eye holes all around the room. The gems in the center gave a ruby tint to everything in the room. I then noticed a poster on the far wall. It was a crude drawing of Lloyd with the words, 'Jewel hunter Lloyd Irving was here' written on it. "What the hell is this?" I shouted, tearing it off the wall and crunching it up. "First he kicks my ass and tries to act like his old man, then he goes and puts up this crude poster on the wall and mocks me," I threw it as far as I could and sent out a weakly powered Getsuga Tensho and destroyed it. I slammed Zangetsu into the ground, "And what the hell was up with that picture? Rukia can draw better than he can." I clenched my fist, "Once I get my hands on you Lloyd so help me I will tie you to a chair and force feed you every one of Orihime's recipes I know." I was only now noticing the switch that the poster had been strung up against.

"What's that?" Emil wondered.

"Hmm," I examined it for a few moments and then cut it with Zangetsu. It gave off a radiant glow and the barrier blocking the exit opened. I turned back towards the others who were giving me blank expressions. "What?"

"It's nothing," Marta said shaking her head, "Come on let's go."

We headed up the stairs and finally got out of the cave. "This isn't good, I'm only able to pick up a small trace of Lumen, it may be too late to following Lloyd."

"Darn it," Marta slumped forward.

"So what's this core thing all about?" I asked.

"Oh right, I suppose you wouldn't know much," Marta said, "To put it simply, the Centurions' cores are the eggs of Centurions, like Tenebrae. Lumen's core is the egg of Centurion Lumen."

"You might say that Centurion's cores are like Centurions in hibernation," Tenebrae said.

"I get it, sort of like the monsters you're holding onto for Emil, right?" I connected.

"Something of that nature," Tenebrae said.

Marta pointed to the jewel on her forehead, "The core on my forehead is Ratatosk's core,"

Emil took a step back, "The demon lord?"

"I told you he's not a demon," Marta insisted.

"Perhaps we should take the time to explain all of this to Emil and Ichigo," Tenebrae said.

"Ichigo?" I just realized up until now that I had yet to introduce myself to Marta. She seemed to recognize me by appearance and started bouncing in place, "Oh wow, I thought you looked familiar. You're Ichigo Kurosaki right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

"I know this is a strange request, since we've just met, but it would really mean a lot to me if you could help us out. Since Lloyd seems to be after the cores I could really use your help in collecting them before he does. With your superior speed I'd have all the cores in no time," she said.

"Ummm," I didn't really know what to say.

Marta stared at the ground, "Oh…you can't…I see."

"I didn't say anything about that," I said suddenly.

"Then you'll help?" Marta seemed hopeful.

"I didn't say anything about that either," I said trying to make her understand where I stood on this. Marta just looked at me with a hardened expression. "Look," I said, "I got wrapped up into this whole mess just by chance. I really only came here to pay a visit to someone, but I stopped by Luin to pick something up first."

"O-oh," Marta seemed to be a lot less jubilant at hearing this.

"I'm not on orders from Soul Society. I'm only battle ready to fend off monsters from the cave since Emil's Uncle asked me to take care of some monsters in exchange for some pocket change and then I just so happened to run into you when that Richter guy asked me to look for you and things just spiraled out of control from there," I told her.

"Oh…I see," Marta seemed to understand things a lot better now. I exhaled and thanked my lucky stars I had gotten her to see things correctly.

"Look why don't we all sit down and discuss what's going on? After that I'll make a decision on whether or not I'll help out. I really want to get to Mizuho and meet up with a friend of mine," I explained.

"All right, that sounds like a fair deal," Marta said.

"Maybe you can tell us more about Lloyd too while you're at it," Emil suggested.

I nodded. _I saw Lloyd's actions with my own eyes. Was that really the same Lloyd I knew two years ago? Did Lloyd change so much he'd act like a younger version of his own dad? And what about what Emil said about Lloyd killing his parents? I have a really bad feeling about all this._ I looked up at the sky, _Sorry Sheena. Looks like it'll be a while before I'm able to meet up with you._

My train of thought was broken by the fact that Marta was upset over the fact that Lloyd must've known about the Lake's location because we were in the ruins of the Tower of Mana. We then decided to head back to Luin, now that Tenebrae had completely lost trace of Lumen. On our way out of the ruins though our path was barred by a pink rabbit, standing on its hind legs and it was staring right at Emil.

"Well, well, well," Tenebrae chuckled. He turned towards Emil, "It appears this monster wants to fight you Emil, as a test of a Knight of Ratatosk."

There was a flash of energy around Emil and his eyes turned red and his voice mimicked mine, "Is that so? Well," Emil drew out his weapon, "Bring it on you little fuzz ball!"

* * *

**Emil's pov**

I charged at the rabbit. It leapt out of the way. _It's fast. _I turned sharply and saw it coming at me with a flying kick. "Demon Fang!" It landed just before the shockwave hit it and bounced back into the air. _Oh no you don't! _I leapt up into the air and slashed at it with my sword. I missed. The monster let out it's cry as it pounced on my back and leapt over me. "You damn piece of crap!" I turned around and ran at it. "I'm going to turn you into a pelt!" As I ran forward I gained immense speed and slammed down with battle energy. "Havoc Strike!"

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Emil came slamming down with a drop kick and a downward slash onto the poor creature breaking it into pieces. Marta gasped at the sheer violence of the scene at seeing a rabbit getting that kind of pounding. If Rukia were here she'd be throwing a fit. The pact magic activated and Emil attempted to form a pact with the rabbit he just defeated. The creature was sealed up into a seal sphere with the Earth Emblem on it. Tenebrae called it to him and pulled it into his system. Emil stood up and turned around still in his other form.

Marta ran over to him giggling, "You're so amazing."

He turned around, blushing, "Shut up, that was nothing."

Marta swooned, "I love the way you said that."

"I'm outta here," There was a flash of energy and Emil reverted to his regular self.

"She's quite taken with him isn't she?" I asked Tenebrae.

"Emil saved Lady Marta's life during the Palmacosta Blood Purge and so Lady Marta wanted Emil to be her knight as a thank you for saving him," Tenebrae stated.

"Really?" I asked, scratching my head, "Cause Emil doesn't seem to remember that all that well." Tenebrae made no response. I just realized what Tenebrae said and called out to Marta, "Hey Marta!"

"Yes what is it?" she asked as I drew near.

"What's this about the Palmacosta Blood Purge?" I asked.

"You don't know about it? It was a pretty big thing," she said.

"Look I haven't been here in a little over two years, and I just got here today so I'm clueless."

"Well, I guess we might as well sit down and talk," she looked at Emil and said real cutesy like "Is that ok with you?"

"It's fine," he blushed, "really. Besides, I need to catch my breath after all that fighting."

"That settles it then," I plopped down onto the ground. "Why don't we all sit around and discuss things?"

"Sounds good to me," Tenebrae said joining us. We all sat around and started talking.

"So Emil how much do you know about the Chosen's journey to regenerate the world and the state of the world before that?" Marta asked him.

"Not much," Emil shook his head slightly.

"You're kidding," I laughed, "Ah well then I'll summarize it for you," I cleared my throat, "Long ago there was this Giant Tree that sustained the world and the end of the world was within close proximity."

Tenebrae picked up the story, "The Goddess Martel and the Hero Mithos managed to prevent this destruction by dividing the world into two. But two years ago Colette the Chosen successfully reunited the two separated lands by sprouting the new World Tree to support the world. While the world was divided in two, Lord Ratatosk transformed into his core and became dormant."

"That's the core on my forehead," Marta pointed to it.

"You mean that's the demon lord Ratatosk's egg?" Emil panicked.

"He is _not_ a demon," Tenebrae said rather annoyed, "Lord Ratatosk was a summon spirit of the Great Tree of Old and is the Lord of all Monsters."

"In order to awaken Ratatosk, we have to first awaken all of his servants, the Centurions, by hatching them. That's why we're on a journey looking for the Centurions' cores," Marta explained.

"Why is it so important that Ratatosk awakens?" I asked.

"If he's asleep, nature will be thrown off balance and destroy the world. For instance Ratatosk's sleep is the reason why Lake Sinoa has dried up. And without him around to oversee things, most monsters have cut ties with the Centurions they serve. So the monsters are running wild and causing the world's mana to fall out of balance," Marta explained.

"So wait, monsters control this world's Mana?" I asked.

"Indeed," Tenebrae responded.

"Huh, you learn something new every day."

Tenebrae continued, "Even while Lord Ratatosk is dormant, the Centurions are supposed to form ties with monsters and maintain order. Yet, the Centurion of Water, Aqua, has allied with Richter, and is neglecting her duties. This is precisely the reason why we have seen one water-related disaster after another. It's absolutely deplorable."

"Why did Aqua sever her bond with Ratatosk?" I asked.

"How should I know that?" Tenebrae asked.

_There is definitely something between those two,_ I said to myself. _Still. _"That still doesn't explain why you guys are fighting to get these cores."

"It's because these cores have remarkable powers and on top of that there are several people who would use the cores for their own selfish reasons. Lloyd and Richter are among them," Tenebrae said.

"Richter I can't say anything about, but Lloyd wouldn't do all this without a good reason behind it. Jerkass or not, I just know that he's doing what he's doing for the right reasons," I said.

"What about my parents?" Emil whined.

"That I don't know about. Were your parents hiding some deep secrets of mass murder and assassination works?" I joked. Tenebrae laughed a bit.

"That's not funny," Emi whined back.

"I was joking, like I said, I have no idea," I repeated, "That's why I want to catch up with Lloyd. If I have to I'll beat the answer out of him."

"In any case," Marta spoke up, "I did manage to recover Ratatosk's core myself, but the core attached itself to my forehead. To be honest, it's a bit frustrating."

"I'll bet," I agreed.

"So Ichigo what can you tell us about Lloyd?" Marta asked.

"Well, when I travelled with Lloyd he was your typical idiot hero. He was an idealist and a good person at heart. Hell I crossed swords with him a bunch of times to get him stronger," I stated.

"You trained Lloyd?" Emil asked.

I nodded, "When we first met Lloyd couldn't even stand against my Shikai. Now it seems that without Bankai I won't be able to stay on level with him."

"What's Bankai?" Marta asked.

"What you don't know?" I asked.

Marta shook her head, "The only things I know about Soul Reapers is that they come from another world and are spirits from the afterlife, and only those with a high affinity for Mana can see them, but while the world was split, Mana was so unstable that anyone could see them."

"However, given the current situation it wouldn't be surprising to think that this same phenomenon is currently going on," Tenebrae stated.

_That's right, _I realized, _Emil's Uncle didn't seem like he had any affinity for Mana at all, but he was still able to see me. _I looked over at Emil. _Emil too, up until he formed a pact with Ratatosk he was the same way._

"So what's this Bankai thing then?" Emil asked.

"It's hard to put it in words, and a demonstration would be tiring on my part," I said, standing up.

"Wait, aren't you going to tell us more about Lloyd?" Marta asked.

"I've told you guys the anonymities, any more and I'd have to go into detail about his achievements which I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear right now," I said. I could tell that just from the evil eye Emil was giving me. Every time Lloyd entered the conversation he got really tempered. He must really believe that Lloyd killed his parents.

* * *

**Luin**

We all headed back towards the town and entered into it.

"I'll drop out of sight since my presence may draw unwanted attention," Tenebrae said and became transparent.

"I can still see you, you know," I told him.

"Understandable I guess since Soul Reapers are themselves Spirits," Tenebrae stated.

"Ichigo, you can see Tenebrae when he blends in with the Shadows?" Marta asked me.

"Are you telling me you can't?" I asked.

Marta shook her head, "I guess that's just an advantage of being a Soul Reaper. There are several times I've wanted to know where Tenebrae's been when he's been hiding," she scowled.

"H-hey you weren't one of the monsters that attacked the village were you?" Emil asked Tenebrae.

"Of course not," Tenebrae said outright, "Those monsters were lured to the village by Lumen's core. When Centurions are in their core state, they're unable to control their powers. Resulting in the disruption of the mana balance and throws nature into chaos."

"Wow. That sucks," I said.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Marta said. She turned towards Emil and leaned forward with her hands behind her back, "Let's go to your house for a little while. We can discuss our next move there."

"Uh…ummm…"

Right away I could sense Emil's lack of comfortableness with the situation and decided to bail him out. "H-hey why don't we go to the Mayor's house first and ask about Richter?"

"That's not a bad idea actually," Marta agreed, "We can ask about Lloyd too while we're there see if he knows anything about what Lloyd's been up to since you've been away for so long."

"Well excuse me for putting my studies as the top priority," I pretended to be insulted. Marta and Tenebrae walked on.

Emil looked at me. "Thanks Ichigo, I didn't want Marta to see me getting yelled at by my aunt and uncle."

"No worries," I told him. _Although I doubt that would've been the least of your problems if we had gone to your house._

* * *

**Tenebrae's pov**

"Rats!" Lady Marta said as we walked, rather far ahead of Emil and Ichigo, "And here I was getting all ready to visit Emil's house," she put my hands together and her eyes glistened, "Introduce myself to his family and make our status as a wonderful new couple official!"

"So that's why you demanded him to take you to his home so suddenly," I commented.

"Oh I get it," she said having like she was having an epiphany, "Emil's so shy he must be too embarrassed to return home with his girlfriend."

"That sounds like wishful thinking to me," I said.

Lady Marta proceeded to bop me on the noggin. "Quiet Tenebrae!" she told me, "That settles it! I've got to get him to like me more!" she ran over to Emil and clung to his arm. "Hey Emil," she swooned, "When's your birthday? What's your favorite food? Do you like girls with long or short hair better?"

"C-cut it out Marta! Quit clinging to me!" I heard Emil say nervously.

I sighed, "I guess this will be an unrequited love."

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I took one look at Marta clinging to Emil and couldn't help, but play a little practical joke. Her eyes were closed so she wouldn't know it was me and not Emil. I cleared my throat silently and then proceeded to mimic Emil's voice. "I like girls like you actually," I said. Emil looked at me like he couldn't believe I just did that. Marta of course heard it and totally bought into it.

"Ah I knew it," she squealed, "We're meant to be." She hugged Emil as tight as she could.

"I…can't…breathe," Emil gagged.

Tenebrae could hardly contain his laughter. It actually was pretty funny. The fact that Emil and I sounded the same would prove to be rather comical on this journey…wait since when did I actually agree to help them with anything? I had to go to Mizuho and find Sheena. "Marta, Emil," I said. Marta let go of Emil and both turned their attention to me, "Listen, it's been fun, but I need to get going."

"You're not gonna help us?" Marta asked.

"I said before I'm not on orders from Soul Society, I came here to buy something at the accessory shop and just got wrapped up into all this," I told her. "I'll look for Lloyd on my own, but with any luck you guys could find someone else who could help you."

"So you're just going to abandon people in need for your own selfish reasons? I thought I taught you better than that."

"That voice," I turned around to see someone who I hadn't seen in a long time walk up from behind Tenebrae. It was a girl with short black hair, violet eyes and short height. "Rukia, what are you doing here?"

"I'm on orders from Soul Society to investigate what's going on with this world, from the Vanguard uprisings to the matter with the Centurions and it sounds like your right smack in the middle of it."

"Who's she?" Emil asked, tilting his head.

"I know you. You're Rukia Kuchiki," Marta said.

"Marta it's been a while," she said with a smile.

"You two know each other?" I asked.

"Marta's a former member of the Vanguard. I helped her narrowly escape pursuit about a month before the Blood Purge when she was crossing over the borders from Tethe'alla back into Sylvarant," Rukia said.

"You're a member of the Vanguard?" Emil asked Marta.

"_Former_ vanguard," Marta emphasized.

"Man I just walked into one big mess," I lamented.

"Bemoan all you want, but I'm not just going to stand around and watch you abandon some people who clearly need our help," Rukia said.

"Hey," I argued, "I came here for a vacation. I'm not exactly required to help out."

"Oh is that so?" Rukia asked getting in my face.

"Yeah it is," I said scowling back. Both of us smirked.

"You haven't changed a bit," Rukia said pulling back.

"Seems like you haven't either," I said.

"Um excuse me," I forgot Emil was still out of the loop.

"Oh right, Emil this is Rukia Kuchiki. She's…"

"Lady Marta!" Suddenly a guy with tan hair curved out into a v-shaped pattern on his head wearing a military uniform and wielding a pair of Katars came running up to us. He had a group of soldiers with him.

Rukia got defensive, "Hawk." Marta got defensive as well.

"Let me guess former co-worker?" I asked.

"Yup," Marta answered.

"Lady Marta there's no reason for you to act hostile. Commander Brute says that if you return Ratatosk's core, all will be forgiven, and you will be welcomed back into the Vanguard," Hawk told her.

Marta copped a tude, "You can tell Commander Brute that what you did—what all of you did—isn't something I can forget."

Hawk played dumb, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Acting dumb won't save you, Marta's not going back to the Vanguard," Rukia said.

"Then we shall show you no mercy!" Hawk said and thrust out his arm in command, "Men! Seize lady Marta and eliminate the others!"

"Not on my watch," I said calmly and held up Zangetsu with both my arms up in the air. I charged a mid-level Getsuga Tensho and fired it.

"Good work Ichigo," Rukia lowered her weapon and ran towards the exit of town, "Follow me."

Emil and I seemed to be thinking the same thing, _How in the world did we get wrapped up into this? _Hawk and the others caught up to us at the fountain. We became surrounded from all sides. "Damn, now what?" I asked. As if to answer my questions knights wearing the armor of the Papal Knights came out of nowhere and knocked out Hawk and his men. Leading them was a Man with similar styled hair as Hawk's, but the color was black. He was also heavier than Hawk and had a mustache. He also wore bronze armor. "Ok, who's this guy?" I wondered. I didn't lower my guard. On my last journey here the Church of Martel caused us nothing but trouble.

The man announced himself, "I am Magnar, Commandant of the Martel Knights. By the orders of Lloyd the Great, I have come to take the demon lord Ratatosk and the Centurion's core!"

_Damn it Lloyd, what the hell are you doing? _I thought to myself.

"You're all the same," Marta spat, the spinner like weapon on her arm, out and prepared for use.

Magnar meant business though, "Hand over Ratatosk's core and I will guarantee that none of you will be harmed. However, if you refuse, this town will meet the same fate as Palmacosta."

"What the hell are you talking about you bastard?" I shouted.

"You don't know?" Magnar laughed, "And they said the famous Ichigo Kurosaki had a good head on his shoulders." I growled. "Fine I shall tell you, wretched whelp. The foolish Vanguard planned to use Ratatosk's core to start a rebellion in order to destroy the Church of Martel and the Chosen."

"According to reports," Rukia said, giving me the notion that she knew what was going on, "Lloyd killed a lot of innocent people to steal Ratatosk's core, and to quell the rebellion."

"But that's…" I couldn't believe it. That just didn't sound like Lloyd at all. What the was going on?

Tenebrae appeared to all and summoned the monsters that Emil had formed pacts with, "Go my servants! Attack!"

"That should keep them busy," Rukia said twirled her sword, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki," she pointed her sword at the knights guarding the exit to town, "Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" She put them on ice. "Come on everyone!" she called out. I agreed and we followed Rukia out of the town to a safe location and then snuck around the outside and concealed ourselves from the knights.

"Damn that Magnar, I oughta charge right back in there right now and give him a piece of my mind," I growled.

"And what good would that accomplish? Soul Society has strict orders not to make direct enemies of the Martel Knights or the Vanguard if we can help it. The brigade I took out to save Marta had no notable officers in it, but if you take out the Commandant of the Martel Knights…"

"How many times do I have to say it?" I growled at Rukia, "I'm not here on orders from Soul Society!"

"That won't stop them from lumping you in with us," Rukia said to me, "Face it Ichigo you're involved in this, like it or not."

I growled under my breath. Emil looked at Marta, "Marta give them the core on your forehead."

"Huh? But…"

"If you…if the Vanguard hadn't attempted a rebellion, Palmacosta never would've been destroyed in the first place!" Emil said. Marta looked depressed, "I'm sorry," Emil apologized, "But if we don't do something, Luin will be destroyed," his voice got rather pitiful, "And everyone will blame me because I'm the one who brought you here."

"Hey, I'm part of this too," I said.

"But you have a reputation with the people of Luin. Your statue is evidence of that," Rukia explained. "Emil has a point."

Marta sighed, "You're right. I'm truly sorry about what happened in Palmacosta."

"Marta?" I asked. She prepared to head out into the open.

Without turning around she said, "I'll give them Ratatosk's core, sorry Tenebrae." She continued onwards.

Tenebrae looked at Emil, quite angered by the looks of it, "Emil you have just sent Lady Marta to her death. Lord Ratatosk's core on her forehead requires energy from her body. The core cannot be separated from her before Lord Ratatosk awakens. Removing it beforehand will surely cause her death."

"What? We've got to do something!" I shouted.

"She already knows," Tenebrae said darkly and looked at Emil, "She intends to die for this town and for you, for your petty desire to protect yourself. I just wanted you to know the consequences of your words."

"You proud of yourself?" I asked Emil, now angry.

"I…no…I…"

"Let's go stop her then," Rukia said.

"What happened to not making enemies of the Martel Knights?" I asked her.

"The centurions seem to be the focal point of this whole problem, preserving Marta's life correlates with the mission and that is what takes priority," Rukia said.

"And what about you?" I asked Emil.

"I'll help too," he said.

"You'll be ostracized by the people of the town," Tenebrae chimed.

"I don't care!" Emil shouted.

"Well then, let's go. I can feel Imp, Wolf and Wild Rabbit all starting to dwindle in power. I should call them back willingly before they are defeated," Tenebrae said.

"Right then it's settled," we all charged forward to get back Marta.

* * *

**Rukia's pov**

When we managed to catch a glimpse of Marta, Luin was already under siege by the Martel Knights. "Damn Bastards!" Ichigo shouted engaging several in battle and attacking.

"Stop it!" Emil shouted only for an explosion to go off, that of which flung him forward and sent him spiraling along the ground. I felt a swift surge of energy surround him.

_What's with this weird spiritual pressure? _I wondered.

Emil stood up there was something about his posture that made him seem different. I cut down another Knight and went over to him. "Didn't you hear what I said?" I stopped. His voice sounded identical to Ichigo's. Emil drew out the sword that was sheathed behind his back, "I said stop you miserable swine!"

_Talk about a complete personality change. _I observed. Emil ripped through two Martel Knights with his bare hands, his fists breaking through armor as if it were aluminum foil. He then drew out his sword and cut down two more knights that attempted to attack him. Emil stood over Marta and gave him her hand, "Stand up Marta," he told her calmly and helped her to her feet.

"Emil watch out!" Marta called out before I could as Magnar attempted to attack Emil from behind. Emil blocked with his sword. "Don't think I forgot about you," Emil said. He pivoted and turned, standing side by side with Marta in preparation for a fight, "You'd better pray to Martel one last time. Pray to her, for a painless death." Magnar stood his ground, but I watched Emil carefully. He executed what appeared to be speeds as fast as that of a Shunpo practitioner and shouted, "Ravaging Tiger!" he slashed upward into the air, destabilizing Magnar and causing him to lose his footing. Emil spun and slashed downward while turing his body 360 degrees, like he was turning over in an invisible bed, while still in midair, whacking the tip of Magnar's lance and knocking it out of the man's hands and then came down with powerful battle energy with a final downward slash and cut straight into Magnar's armor. The force of the blow sent Magnar barreling away. Ichigo then came up from behind with a high powered Getsuga Tensho and sent Magnar sailing toward the fence aligned parallel to the bridge that led to the town exit. Magnar lay there like a lump. All the troops began to disperse. Emil went over to Magnar and flipped him over. Magnar still seemed dazed. "So, where's your divine punishment?" Emil asked and decked Magnar across the side of the face. Magnar didn't put up a sign of defense. "Well?" he punched him again. "Show me!" he hit him again. "What's the matter?" he attacked again. "Can't say anything?"

"Emil stop it! You're going to kill him!" I shouted.

"Emil stop this please!" Marta pleaded. I felt that pulse of weird spiritual pressure I felt earlier and Emil backed off of Magnar, whose face had seen better days, and seemed frightened at what he had done.

"Wh-what was I just doing?" Emil turned around and ran away on his own.

"Emil!" I called out to him.

Ichigo stopped me, "Let him go Rukia," he said, "give him a chance to cool down. I saw a little of what happened. If I were in his position,I'd want a little space. If he doesn't come back on his own. I'll go talk to him."

"You see a lot of you in him don't you?" I asked.

Ichigo nodded. "If he decides to go looking for Lloyd I'm going to go with him."

"What about Sheena?" I asked.

"She hasn't seen me in nearly two years. She can wait a little while longer," Ichigo said.

I smiled and then looked in the direction I saw Emil run off in. What I had just witnessed reminded me of when Ichigo was having problems controlling his inner hollow. _Emil. Just what sort of power are you wielding?_

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: 8D Yay Rukia! So yeah she's going to stick around with the group for what I hope will be the rest of the series. And it seems Emil is gaining power rather quickly and has gained 3 monsters under his command. What will happen? Find out next time in Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai)**


	5. Start of a New Journey

**(A/N: Special thanks to Nameless Flame Wielder for indirectly giving me the idea for Alice's nickname for Ichigo. Since she and Ilya from Fate/Stay Night act the same I figured I could work in the same nickname. Also I'll try to get as much MartaXEmil fluff in whenever I can, even if it's repeat stuff from canon, cause that pairing is just so cute. I may also, like with Lloyd and Colette, push them further than how they end up at the end of the game. Because I couldn't easily end the chapter I added in an omake. To Tales Series geeks, you'll probably recognize it)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

When Emil didn't show after a while I decided to go looking for him. Marta and Rukia decided to go and talk to the Mayor. I found Emil despairing behind the inn sitting down with his legs curled up by his chest. I leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the alley way, made up of hard bedrock.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm a complete monster," he whimpered.

"You're afraid aren't you?" I asked.

Emil turned to look up at me, "Of course I am! I almost killed someone!" he turned back to stare at the ground, elbows on his knees. "I'm no better than Lloyd." I growled under my breath, picked up Emil by his collar and placed him on his feet. "Aah! Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded.

I backed away, "I'm not going to do anything of the sort." I told him. "Listen Emil, I once went through the same thing you did. I lost control of who I am because of a certain power dormant inside me. Granted I don't think the same remedy that worked for me will work for you, but you can't just despair just because you're having trouble controlling something you don't fully understand yet. You're other self comes out whenever you don't feel strong enough to stand up for yourself. You need to quit acting like such a coward."

"That's easy for you to say, you have power," Emil said to me.

"Don't talk as if you understand," I shouted back. Emil shied away in front. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but I wasn't always the roughneck you see in front of you. I used to be like you, a weak, timid kid who tried to be brave."

"What happened that changed you?" Emil asked me.

I turned around, "My mom died." I started to reminisce. "I was a lot younger than you were. When I was a kid I took martial arts lessons. I cried a lot when I got beat, but my mom always used to be able to put a smile on my face. And then...one day, as we were walking home from the dojo, I spotted a girl down by the river. I ran after her to save her. My mother ran after me. The next thing I knew I was lying unconscious underneath her. She was dead. I blamed myself every single day. Even after I came across my mother's killer I still blame myself for her death. I still haven't gotten my revenge, and while it doesn't drive me, I want to get it someday."

"Then…what does drive you?" Emil asked timidly.

"After my mom died, I didn't want to lose anyone else important to me. As I grew older the amount of people I wanted to protect grew larger and I had to continually grow stronger to protect them." I turned back around to face Emil. "To fight means to protect others who aren't strong enough to protect themselves. You have to figure out who or what it is you want to protect. Your power isn't something to be feared. The power of Ratatosk grants you the power to protect what it is you want to protect, even before you yourself realize what it is you want to protect. I learned that the hard way." I walked towards Emil. "I see a lot of what I used to be inside you. And so," I extended my hand to him, "I'll guide you along the path you set out for yourself. What do you say? Friends?"

"F-friends?" he was shocked.

"Yeah, why not? You may be out to get Lloyd, but friends don't always have to like each other's friends. Besides, I have a few choice words for that idiot myself," I stated. Emil shook my hand and smiled kindly.

"There you two are," I heard Rukia's voice. She, Marta and Tenebrae came moseying on up the pathway.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Both the Vanguard and the Martel Knights have left town," Marta said.

"The mayor spoke with us earlier and asked if we could all go after Lloyd," Rukia asked.

"All of us?" Emil asked and then slumped forward. "I get it. This is his way of telling me to leave."

"I don't think that's it," I said, "The Lloyd that Rukia and I know would never allow this sort of violence to occur, even if the Church did order it. Man where's Unohana when you need her?"

"Unfortunately the only people sent to investigate this matter were Vice-Captain Matsumoto, Captain Hitsugaya, Renji, Nii-sama and me," Rukia stated, "So we're going to have to make do without Unohana's influence over the church."

"Speaking of investigations, what did you come here for anyway?" I asked.

"I'll explain once we've left town," Rukia said.

"Ichigo, does that mean you're coming with us?" Marta asked.

I nodded and then glanced towards Emil. "Well actually..."

"Huh?" Emil looked up at me.

"What are you going to do?" I asked him. "I told you, I'll guide you along your path, even if we have to separate from others to get you there."

"I'll go too," he said confidently, "I want to avenge my parents."

"Then it's settled we're all going together," Marta said.

"You too Marta?" Emil asked.

"Of course," she said, "The whole point of mine and Tenebrae's journey is to find the Centurions' cores and wake up Ratatosk. So Lloyd is our common enemy in this case. You also made a pact with Ratatosk as a knight, right?" Marta folded her arms behind her back, "And Ratatosk is stuck on me, so that means you have to protect me."

"As I told you before, Lady Marta had been looking for you. She wanted the boy who saved her back in Palmacosta, you, to be a Knight of Ratatosk," Tenebrae repeated.

Emil hung his head, "Um, I really don't remember meeting you before. Are you okay with that?"

"It's okay, because I remember. And you're brave, so I feel like I can count on you," Marta said, blushing slightly.

_Brave? _I scratched my head. _That's not exactly a word I'd use to describe Emil._

"You think I'm brave?" Emil asked Marta. "I'm nothing like that."

"No, you really are," she told him, "You already saved me several times since we met again. And you wouldn't have done that if you didn't have courage. That's why I want to go with you. We can start off as friends. Right?" She blushed harder and looked down at the ground, swaying from side to side on her feet, "Of course I don't mind being more than friends." Emil took a half-step back and smiled nervously.

"So let's head out then shall we?" I asked. Everyone agreed.

* * *

**The open field**

Once we were far enough out of Luin, Rukia stopped walking. "All right I think we're out far enough." We all turned to face her. "I'll explain to you all what's going on."

"Yeah, what's Soul Society's role in all this?" I asked.

"It all started when hollow attacks started to become less frequent in Aselia, the Head Captain dispatched Vice-Captan Matsumoto to Sylvarant and me to Tethe'alla. Our investigation turned up findings of the Vanguard and their uprisings and later we discovered the existence of the Centurions. Things became more of a mess when it started to become apparent that Soul Reapers had once again lost their sense of stealth amongst normal humans. We also have reason to believe that the Vanguard might be pulling the same foul tricks that the Tethe'allans pulled back during the Great War."

"You mean the Vanguard is employing hollows into their service?" I asked.

Rukia nodded, "That's what it seems like."

"Marta do you know anything?" Emil asked.

"No," Marta shook her head, "I'm sorry."

"At any rate during our investigation Vice-Captain Matsumoto caught wind of a rather large uprising in Palmacosta and sought to investigate," Rukia said.

"The Blood Purge," Marta noted.

Rukia nodded. "She called for me via Hell Butterfly, but by the time I made it she had already been heavily wounded. Her investigation was cut short, by according to her, none other than Lloyd Irving."

"What?" I was alarmed.

"I know, none of us could believe it either, but Vice-Captain Matsumoto was certain it was Lloyd," Rukia stated.

"But she's his friend right…why would he…" Emil started to speak out.

"We don't know. With Vice-Captain Matsumoto out of commission I was asked to return to Aselia and continue the investigation solo. Nii-sama and Renji are looking to get clearance in order to join us. When Vice-Captain Matsumoto recovers she and Hitsugaya are going to come here as well," Rukia stated.

"All right, so what's the main objective?" I asked.

"First and foremost we're to solve this problem with the centurions. We can't operate properly here if that matter isn't settled. Secondary objectives include solving the issue with Lloyd and putting down the Vanguard if they pose too much of a problem, but not to aggravate them or the Martel Knights unless absolutely necessary," Rukia answered.

"Ok, that's one problem solved," I said, "So how exactly do you and Marta know each other?"

"In order to gain information on the vanguard, for some time I infiltrated one of their bunkers. When I introduced myself as a Soul Reaper I gained quite a few privileged accesses. It was during my investigation I came across the knowledge that they were possibly employing hollows as their servants. When suspicion grew the Vanguard had me exorcised from the base telling me I was no longer welcome, but they weren't going to hold it against Soul Society," Rukia answered.

"So you were in the vanguard's headquarters for a bit. What about…"

"I'm getting there," Rukia interrupted me, "As I was leaving the base I heard someone cry out in alarm about someone attempting to escape with 'Ratatosk's core'."

"That was hawk, he was asked by the Vanguard leader, Commander Brute, to look after the core in preparation for the Palmacosta Blood Purge," Marta answered.

"But you were asked to look over the Tethe'allan lands Rukia, what were you doing in Sylvarant?" I asked.

"The base was on the edge of the Tethe'allan territory, but that's beside the point," Rukia said, "I followed Marta closely and waited until we were far enough away from the Vanguard base so that I could act."

"If Rukia hadn't acted when she did I would've had to have kept running until I reached Palmacosta where upon their army would've barred the Vanguard from entering," Marta followed up.

"I helped Marta merely cross over the border and took out all surrounding Vanguard members, I then headed to Meltokio to keep my involvement from being discovered," Rukia stated.

"I didn't even get a chance to ask Rukia her name, she just appeared out of nowhere and told me to run and that she would hold them off. The only reason I trusted her was because of her black kimono signifying her as a Soul Reaper, the talk at the base, plus my knowledge about the Journey of World Regeneration was what helped me put two and two together," Marta continued.

"Later, after the Blood Purge, I was sent back alone and during my investigation in search for the Vanguard did Marta and I cross paths again," Rukia said.

"When was this?" I asked.

"Right after the Blood Purge," Rukia said, "the moment I was sent back I made for Palmacosta to gather information. Marta was recovering from supposed injuries."

"In actuality though, my head still hurt from Ratatosk's core fusing with my head," Marta explained.

"I was interviewing people at the inn about the incident and it was around that time that Marta recognized me," Rukia continued.

"Rukia explained to me part of what she was doing and what she was attempting to do," Marta cut in. "That's when we had a proper introduction."

"And after hearing Marta's explanation I went searching for abnormalities across the continent, looking for natural disasters. I didn't know when I'd meet up with Marta, but just after I finished up my investigation in looking into the problematic situation with the dried up lakebed of Lake Umacy I picked up the entrance of a Senkaimon emerging near Luin. I had thought it was Nii-sama or Renji so I went to Hima, which was supposed to be our rendezvous point," Rukia continued.

"So what made you decide to swing back this way?" I asked.

Rukia scowled, "Well when I got to Hima the place was swarming with monsters so I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to stick around, so I figured Luin would be the closest place to go. I went to pub and asked around about any individuals in black kimonos swinging by. Apparently I was the first. So I hung around the statue of Orihime, and not too long after that, that's when you showed up."

"So now that we're all on the same page, where should we go?" Tenebrae asked.

"Let's head to Asgard, I've heard some rumors about some strange wind patterns. That might be a good place to start," Rukia stated.

"And conveniently it's located pretty close to here. Let's go," I said.

* * *

**Asgard**

When we arrived in Asgard the wind was howling like the shouting of the heavens themselves.

"So strange wind patterns turn out to be high mile per hour gusts, great," I said sarcastically.

"Let's go to the mayor's house and see what we can find out," Rukia stated.

"Sounds like a plan," Marta agreed.

We headed down the roadway until I recognized someone out of the corner of my eye. I waved, "Oi! Yuan!" He spotted me and then completely ignored me. "Hey!" I ran right up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "What's with you, giving me the cold shoulder like that?"

"What are you doing here Kurosaki Ichigo?" he asked.

I frowned, "I should be asking you the same thing, and why are you acting like such a jerk, I had enough people treating me like crap from Lloyd and…"

"Hold on, did you say Lloyd?" he asked.

"Do you know something about why he's acting the way he is?" I asked.

Yuan said nothing, but looked deep in thought, "It's nothing, please excuse me," he made to walk past me, but I grabbed his shoulder.

"It's not nothing! Tell me what's going on with Lloyd! You know, don't you?" I demanded. Rather than respond Yuan grabbed my wrist and flipped me over onto my back. I got up quickly, "What the hell was that for?"

"What's going on is not your concern Ichigo, please pay it no heed," he said and before I could reach towards him he said, "And if you touch me again, I'll resort to more than just unarmed combat."

"Tch, whatever, fine be a jerk. I'll tell Nel you're attitude's become as sour as ever," I threatened.

"Do whatever you'd like," Yuan walked on by.

"Ichigo are you ok?" Emil, Marta and Rukia ran up to me.

"What did you say to get Yuan so pissed off like that?" Rukia asked.

"I didn't say anything, the guy just completely went tranquil fury on my ass. It was like when I met up with Lloyd, all our former friends here seem to have no manners," I huffed.

"I think the more likely scenario is that Lloyd and Yuan might be in cahoots with each other," Rukia said.

"So who's this Yuan person?" Marta asked.

"Long story," Rukia said, "We'll explain it another time."

"But if he's working with Lloyd," Emil protested.

"We don't have any definite proof so there's no use getting crazy about it," I said. "Anyway let's head to the mayor's house." No sooner had I said that though did the wind go crazy. Marta was blown completely off her feet and into the air. She shrieked in fright.

"Marta!" Emil ran after her.

"Emil!" Marta reached after Emil as she was flung into the air. Emil continued to run towards her and grabbed her hand and pulled her safely onto the ground…right on top of him. Two words: awkward position. Marta and Emil's faces were inches from each other. Marta was still holding Emil's hand and her other hand had his other arm pinned down. Marta just started giggling as she lifted up off Emil. She got up first and pulled Emil to his feet. Emil yanked his hand away and hid it behind his back.

"Uh…umm…we should find somewhere the wind won't blow us away," Emil said.

"There's a cave like area used for tourists not too far from here," Rukia said.

"Ah yes, the Mural Cavern, that would be an ideal location," Tenebrae agreed.

"Sounds like a plan," I said unsheathing Zangetsu, "Everyone stay behind me, I can use this as a wall of sorts to keep the wind from blowing us away." The others agreed.

"Wait," Marta grabbed Emil's hand. He blushed. "It'll be safer if I hold your hand. I don't want to get blown away again."

"Uh um…o-okay I guess."

_Poor kid, _was all I could think.

We made it to the Mural cavern without much trouble. Zangetsu proved to be a pretty good air shield. I sheathed it when we got inside. "I think we'll be safe in here," Rukia said.

"Y-yeah," Emil agreed.

"Emil what's the matter? Your face is all red," Marta giggled.

"U-um, y-your hand," Emil stuttered.

"Aw do I have to let it go?" Marta faux pouted.

"Uh…ummm…" the shade of red on Emil's face turned even darker.

Marta giggled and let go, "Just kidding."

"What the hell was that just now?" I growled referring to the wind.

"I believe it's connected to Lord Ratatosk's sleep," Tenebrae said.

"Thank you captain obvious," I sighed.

"I think Ichigo was talking about why the wind suddenly got so strong just at that moment," Emil pointed out.

"Who can say?" Rukia asked, "The wind moves as the wind does."

"That's quite poetic Miss Kuchiki," Tenebrae complimented.

"…_ther…gether…"_

"Huh?"

"Ichigo what's wrong?" Marta asked.

"Shh," I said and closed my eyes. I could hear voices out in town.

"The wind appears to have died down," Tenebrae stated.

"Yeah and there seems to be some form of commotion outside as well," I added.

"There's a rather large spiritual pressure out there as well, we'd best be careful," Rukia stated.

"Agreed," I said.

We all walked out of the cave only for Marta to grab Emil and me by our necks and shove us onto the ground, along with herself. I was about to question it, but Marta said in a loud whisper, "Just stay down."

"What's going on?" I asked Rukia.

"It's Hawk and his men, but there's a strange girl with them," she said.

"That's Alice. Rukia make yourself scarce like the rest of us," Marta warned. Rukia responded to Marta's warning.

We lay down on our stomachs and peered over the edge of the cliff. There was a blonde girl holding what looked like a riding crop attached to a rapier handle. She pouted and folded her arms. "I'm so disappointed you still haven't found Colettie," she said like she was in kindergarten or something. "Oh poo, Alice is so tired."

One of the soldiers knelt down on the ground like a dog and Alice used his back as a chair. Hawk knelt down in front of her pleading, "Lady Alice if you'll just be a little more time we'll…" Alice swatted him with her riding crop on a stick and knocked hawk right over.

She giggled, "I just said that I'm tired." She then said, like an innocent angel "Now, now," she said, "You should know better than to," her face grew evil like a hissing cat, "Talk," she whacked hawk, "back," she hit him again, "to," she hit him again, "me!" Hawk fell over, groaning. "No wonder you let MartMart slip through your fingers and failed so spectacularly in Luin."

"B-but Lady Alice…i-it wasn't our fault…Kurosaki Ichigo has returned and…"

WHACK!

Hawk should've listened to her the first time. "I don't," Hawk got hit, "want to here," she hit him again, "your excuses! I'll deal with all of it myself, and I'll converse with Berry Onii-chan in person. I'll make sure he won't get in our way again, okay Hawkie?" she smiled cutely.

_And what exactly does she expect to do? _I wondered, smirking. _There's no way in hell I'm going to listen to what a brat like her has to say._

"Now then," Alice stood up, "Hurry and find that pesky Colettie, I'll be at the mayor's house. Ta-ta," she twirled and went off.

Hawk stood firmly in place, "I'll search the city's perimeter while you do a thorough sweep of the city. The Chosen of Regeneration is a woman with blonde hair. Bring in anyone that fits that description! And do it quickly, or Lady Alice will have all of our heads! Now go!"

"For the liberation of Sylvarant!" the soldiers saluted and dispersed.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding and our group stood up. "So that girl…she's a member of the Vanguard?" Emil asked.

"That's Alice, the leader of the combat unit. She's a complete sadist. Be careful around her," Marta warned.

"A little girl like that is in charge of the combat unit?" I asked.

"She definitely gives a whole new meaning to the words looks can be deceiving," Rukia said.

"I'm just curious why Hawk just sat there and took all of her abuse," I wondered.

"Oh that's because of the outcome of her and Hawk's legendary duel," Marta said.

"Legendary duel?" I questioned.

"Originally Hawk was the one in charge of the combat unit, but when Alice joined she wanted the position for herself and so they fought over it," Marta shuddered, "The battle was completely one sided. Apparently Hawk has scars on his back from the duel and there's talk that they spell out the words 'Alice's Pet'."

"Ouch," I cringed. "Talk about being scarred for life."

"So wait why does she call Hawk, Hawkie?" Emil asked, "It's like she was making fun of him or something."

"No Alice only comes up with those cute little nicknames for people she likes," Marta said.

"Oh so the fact that Alice calls you Martmart must mean she likes you a lot then," Emil concluded.

Marta shook her head, "No it's the opposite for girls. That nickname means I'm on her bad list."

"This is confusing," Emil said.

"I agree, but not for the same reason you find it Emil," Rukia said staring straight at me.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Yeah, now that you mention wasn't that Berry Onii-chan comment in reference to you Ichigo?" Marta asked.

"What? Me? I've never even met her before in my life!" I exclaimed.

Tenebrae chuckled, "It seems you are just berry good at attracting vine young ladies wouldn't you say?"

"Tenebrae that was horrible," I said with a glazed look.

"Hmph, it seems my sense of humor is juice too refined for your tastes I guess," he said and laughed. I groaned.

"Ok, before we become a victim of more fruit related puns let's go look for Colette," Rukia spoke up.

"Agreed," I said.

"Do you two…know the Chosen?" Marta asked.

"Yeah, we travelled with her long enough," I said. "You don't have to worry about Colette being cold. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body."

"Yes, Colette's very cheery," Rukia reinforced my statement.

"I see," Marta still didn't seem too upbeat.

"Marta is something the matter?" Emil asked her.

"It's nothing," Marta shook her head. "Let's go meet the chosen."

"Rukia, can you sense Colette at all?" I asked.

"I'm trying to," Rukia said, "I'm getting a few strong pulse waves and with all this wind it's hard to concentrate and the fact that I haven't been around Colette for close to two years only makes it harder."

"Can you walk while concentrating?" Tenebrae asked, "Perhaps we can follow your sense of direction."

"I'll make sure you don't walk into anything," Emil volunteered.

"Emil…you…" Marta gasped.

"Huh? What is it?" Emil asked her.

"It's…it's nothing…never mind," Marta turned around.

"Um…ok." Emil seemed confused. I knew what was up though. As we walked, while Rukia concentrated, Marta walked in front of Emil. I decided to pull another little harmless prank.

"Marta you're really sexy walking like that," I said, mimicking Emil's voice. His reaction was priceless. Marta stopped walking on a dime. She turned around beaming.

"Do you really think that Emil? Did I really look 'sexy', like you said?"

"Ummm…ummm…" Emil couldn't reply. I just laughed, so did Tenebrae. This was just too easy.

"You guys are making it hard for me to concentrate," Rukia snapped.

"I'm sorry," Emil apologized.

Rukia turned around, "It's fine," her eyes were open. She pointed to a house up towards the windmill. That's the house.

"Hey that's Aisha's house," I said, recognizing it.

"Who?" Rukia asked.

"Oh that's right, you weren't with us at the time. She's a friend we met before we went from Sylvarant to Tethe'alla," I told Rukia, "I wonder if Colette's trying to gather information on the wind problems like we are."

"Well there's only one way to find out," Rukia said and we all headed towards Aisha's house.

"I see…so Lloyd hasn't stopped by here either," I recognized Colette's voice immediately as we opened the door.

"I am sorry I could not be of more help Chosen One," I heard Aisha apologize.

"You're looking for Lloyd too huh?" I asked. Colette seemed to react to hearing me speak. Rukia and I were the only ones who had gotten into the house. She turned towards us. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Rukia! Ichigo!" She ran forward towards us and gave Rukia a big hug. "Oh I missed you both so much." She proceeded to give a greeting hug to me too. "How have you been? What are you guys doing here? Are you here together? Oh no that's right, Ichigo's girlfriend is-"

"Chosen One!" Marta pushed past Rukia and me and entered the house, scowling.

"Marta?" I asked, concerned, but she put up her hand, signaling me to be quiet.

"Y-yes?" Colette responded nervously.

"I have something I wish to ask of you. Two years ago the world regeneration caused the separated worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla to become one. And during that process, a giant, fearsome tree appeared in Palmacosta and destroyed the city," Marta was referring to the incident in which we had finally made pacts with all the Summon Spirits and the giant tree went out of control. "I was told it happened because you tried to run away from your task of world regeneration. Is that true?" Colette didn't respond.

"Marta it wasn't Colette's fault, we…" I started to say.

"I'm not talking to you Ichigo. Don't defend her. Well, speak up. You have a voice right?" Marta was really laying into Colette. I had a right mind to grab her shoulder and knock some sense into her, but I wanted to see her reasoning first. And I knew Colette wouldn't…

"Yes…it's true," she said.

_What? Colette! _Marta shoved Colette and she landed against the table, barely able to balance herself. "Hey! What are you doing?" I shouted.

Marta ignored me, "My mother was in Palmacosta when that giant tree attacked! She was killed in that catastrophe!" Marta turned around looking like she was going to cry and ran out the door.

"Ah, Marta wait up!" Emil ran after her. I sighed, I figured Emil might be able to get her to calm down. In the meantime Rukia and I could help Colette cheer up a bit.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Emil found Marta at the bottom of the hill, brooding. "Marta?" he called out to her.

She turned around, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to see me like that."

"It's okay," he hung his head, "When I saw Lloyd back at the Lake Sinoa Cave, I got so angry I couldn't control myself."

"You're not mad at the Chosen?" Marta tilted her head. Emil picked his head up, confused. "You were born in Palmacosta too, right? What were you doing when that monstrous giant tree attacked Palmacosta?"

"Oh, I wasn't in the city then," Emil said.

"Oh," Marta stated.

_Yeah, I wasn't there, _Emil repeated to himself in his head.

"I joined the Vanguard because I blamed the Chosen for destroying Palmacosta," Marta said in continuation, "But I do understand. I know that it must have been really hard for her to seal away the Desians and regenerate the world. I know that there's probably a good reason why what happened in Palmacosta was unavoidable. But she just admitted to the rumor she'd run away. I just can't forgive that."

A vanguard soldier came running onto the scene, "Hey, you. You just said something about the Chosen. We're the Vanguard, the Sylvaranti Liberation Front. A resistance movement dedicated to punishing the Tethe'allans and the Church of Martel for persecuting Sylvaranti as if we were half-elves. We are currently looking for the Chosen of Regeneration, a Sylvaranti traitor who is sympathetic to the Tethe'allan people. If you have information about her whereabouts, tell us."

"The chosen left the city already," Marta lied.

"What? Dammit!" The soldier took off.

"Why did you say that?" Emil asked Marta.

"The Vanguard has declared the Chosen a wanted traitor who pretended to save Sylvarant even as she betrayed it to Tethe'alla."

"If they catch her, she may be executed for propaganda," Tenebrae said.

"I didn't know the Vanguard was a group of such extremists," Emil said, bewildered.

"Even though I can't forgive the Chosen, the Vanguard's latest actions are even harder to overlook," Marta explained her actions.

"Wait you mean the Vanguard is different from what it once was?" Emil asked.

"It's because Commander Brute has changed," Marta answered.

"You know it looked like Ichigo and Rukia had something to say on the subject, maybe if we listen to them they could tell us more about it," Emil said.

"Maybe," Marta said, sighing.

"Marta, are you ok?" Emil asked.

"I'm ok, it's just," she sighed again, "I made a total fool of myself back there. I know the Chosen was responsible for saving the world, but I couldn't stop myself from yelling at her like that."

"Well you're kinder than I am," Emil said to the brunette. Marta looked at him in curiosity. "Even though he helped save the world, I could never forgive Lloyd for killing my parents. I didn't think you sounded foolish at all. Actually, I was impressed."

Marta smiled, "Thanks for being such a nice guy." She broke out into a longing look of devotion and admiration, "You're strong, you're kind…you're the greatest," she squealed and grabbed onto Emil, "I love you so much."

_She keeps raising my pedestal higher and higher, _Emil thought to himself.

As the pair decided to trek back up the hill the wind picked up violently again and Marta was blown away. Emil reached out for her, but he missed and chased after Marta, who he found hanging from the edge of an old stone pathway, the edge of which hung out over a gorge. Marta was hanging on the edge, not wanting to fall. "H-help!" she called out.

"Marta! Give me your hand!" Emil reached down to her.

Marta reached up to Emil with her free hand. "Don't let go of me," she told him.

"I won't, but…"

"What is it?"

"I can't pull myself up! The wind's making it impossible! I'm just not strong enough," Emil grunted, trying his best.

"It's fine, hopefully Rukia or Ichigo will…"

"Will what? Martmart." Marta saw Alice walking up behind Emil, and saw Hawk appear on a lower pathway.

"Lady Alice! Commander Brute gave explicit orders to have Lady Marta taken back alive!" Hawk called out.

"But it's not my fault that she fell to her death because of the wind," Alice said innocently, "I'm sure the Commander will understand that accidents can happen."

"Marta," Emil called out to her.

"Emil, don't let go!" Marta called out.

"I won't, I promise I won't I…aagh!" Alice struck Emil along the back with her riding crop, still he held onto Marta's hand.

"Emil!" Marta still held on.

"One more swat should do it," Alice thought aloud to herself. She made to bring down her attack

"Hado 33 Sokatsui!" A bright blast of blue energy came flying out of nowhere towards Alice's location who took a giant leap back. In the next moment Marta and Emil went flying away from the ledge and were brought onto solid ground by Ichigo.

"Angel Feathers!" Pink rings of light went blasting towards Alice. She deftly dodged each one of them.

"Marta! Emil! Are you two all right?" Rukia called out.

"We're fine thanks," Marta called out, unleashing her spinner.

"Yeah we're good now, thanks," Emil was in Ratatosk mode.

"Soul Reapers and the Chosen, oh this won't do at all," Alice pouted. "Athos! Porthos! Get them!" Alice shouted. A black rabbit and a pinkish lion-like creature, as well as Hawk, attacked Emil, Marta and Ichigo. Alice was left to contend with Rukia and Colette.

"Havoc Strike!" Emil leapt at the black rabbit only for it to jump to the other side. Marta side stepped the pink leonine creature and Ichigo blocked and destabilized Hawk.

_Perfect, I've got the wind pushing against my back, _Ichigo said to himself pulling back his sword, _and all my targets are facing the entrance to town. _

"Barrier!" Marta shouted, casting defense magic on her and Emil, having an idea that whatever Ichigo was about to use, they would need it to prevent themselves from getting blown away.

Ichigo held up his sword high in the air, "Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo let out a high powered Getsuga Tensho ripping through Hawk, Athos, and Porthos and leaving them unconscious on the ground.

"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" Rukia fired forward her ice blast at Alice, but the blonde seemed to deflect the short Soul Reaper's attack with some form of magic.

"Drat!" Alice stamped her foot, seeing Hawk, Athos and Porthos all down for the count. She whistled with her thumb and fore finger. "Aramis!" A big, balloon like, floating purple creature came down from the air and sucked up Hawk, Athos and Porthos inside the innard space of a stomach. Alice hitched a ride on the monster's back and it took off.

"Man," Ichigo breathed. "That was close."

"Did you two sense us in danger?" Marta asked Rukia.

"More like I sensed Alice and Hawk drawing near you so I rushed out. Colette came because she wanted to help," Rukia stated.

"Really?" Marta asked.

"Yup," Colette nodded.

"That reminds me, Colette you were saying something about the stone dais before we had to go and play hero," Ichigo said.

"Oh, well you see, I've been investigating the wind gusts and I think it might be connected with the fake Summon Spirit of Wind that your friend Uryu destroyed Ichigo," Colette said.

"Huh? You think so?" Ichigo asked.

"Well I don't know for certain, that's why I was going to check out the stone dais," Colette said.

"I'll help you," Rukia said, "With any luck this might lead us to a Centurion's core."

"How do you work that out?" Tenebrae asked.

"Simple, if the Centurions control the weather and Aqua's neglect has caused so many water related disasters it wouldn't be farfetched to say that the current wind disasters are being caused by the dormant Centurion of Wind," Rukia concluded.

"Hmm, that does make a lot of sense," Tenebrae agreed.

Colette giggled. "You're so smart Rukia."

"Please it's nothing really," Rukia said humbly.

"Marta, what do you want to do?" Emil asked her.

"Well I…"

"Marta," Ichigo spoke out.

"Hmm?" she looked over to him.

"I was there when the Giant Tree went rampant. I'm sorry society blames Colette for what happened, but she's not the sole cause," he said.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Marta asked.

"Basically we, rather Lloyd and me and a couple of others, traded in Colette's life for the people of Sylvarant. We tried to find a way that could allow Sylvarant to be saved without the need for Colette's life to be sacrificed," Ichigo said.

"During the process we had a summoner in our group and we formed pacts with all the summon spirits which caused the great tree from the Legend of the Hero Mithos to go out of control," Rukia said.

"So what are you saying, that you're all to blame for what happened?" Marta asked curiously.

"No, if anyone's to blame it's some of the organizations that weren't giving us all the information on what we were doing, but for society to say that the tree that ravaged Palmacosta is because Colette ran away from her journey, while well summarized, is also rather inaccurate," Ichigo answered her.

"But that crazy tree still attacked Palmacosta because Colette didn't finish the journey of regeneration," Marta argued.

"Right, but at the time Colette didn't make the choice not to finish the journey," Ichigo told her, "Rather, I think Lloyd and I are more or less the ones who wanted her to survive more than anyone."

"Lloyd," Emil growled.

"I heard about what happened to you at Palmacosta Emil, I heard about the Blood Purge too. I don't want to believe that Lloyd would suddenly do something like this," Colette said. She looked down at the ground, "Although…"

"Colette weren't you and Lloyd on a journey to collect Exspheres together?" Rukia asked.

"We were, but one day I woke up and Lloyd was just gone. I was really worried too. He was the one who kept watch that night. I remember saying goodnight to him before I went to bed, but when I woke up he was gone."

"Did anything seem strange at all that entire day?" Ichigo asked the blonde.

"Well…Lloyd would've had to have left in the middle of the night, because I couldn't hear his footsteps or see him at all. Normally no matter how far Lloyd got from me I was still able to track him with my angel senses, but I…I couldn't find him at all," Colette seemed sad.

"Why would Lloyd just suddenly abandon you like that?" Emil asked, "Aren't you his friend?"

"I thought so too," Colette was really upset over this, "That's why I want to find him. I want to know why he left," she then muttered, "why he couldn't take me with him?"

"Well, there's no use worrying about it now. Let's do what we can and go look for Lloyd later," I said.

"Ok," Colette agreed.

"Right then, let's head for the Stone Dais," Rukia said.

"Agreed," Emil nodded.

* * *

**Omake**

Marta noticed Emil acting rather shy, and flushing, as he walked alongside Colette. As the blonde chosen skipped ahead farther to the group Marta called out to Emil, "Wow you're really going all mushy over Colette," she scowled.

"No I'm not," Emil returned, nervously, massaging his hands erratically.

"Are too," Marta said as though she were in grade school, "It's like you can't relax. Look at you, you're fidgeting."

"Lady Marta please calm down," Tenebrae told her, "I do believe Emil is nervous, but I don't think his heart is all aflutter."

Colette just so happened to randomly join the conversation at this time, having fallen back a bit, "What does all aflutter mean?" she asked innocently.

"It's nothing!" Emil said, turning beet red.

"Oh my gosh! You're blushing! You are such a jerk!" Marta ran up to get in pace with Ichigo and Rukia.

"Did I miss something?" Colette asked, confused.

Emil sighed, "It's nothing."

* * *

**(A/N: And cut. Wow a work two days in progress and now it's done. So yeah I changed that incident with the cliff to have Marta hanging from it. Like I said I will push that whenever I feel necessary, and that Ichigo mimicking Emil gag is going to happen a lot over the course of the series. Just a note, I'm going away to Setsucon this weekend so I won't be around to do ANYTHING because I am not bringing my laptop. Anyways, please review and subscribe. Night peeps!)**


	6. Rukia and the Rabbit

**(A/N: I'm back from Setsucon it was awesome. If you want to read about what happened go to my deviantart profile there's a link to my deviantart profile on my profile page. You will have to go sifting through my journal archive though. Anyway here's the next chapter enjoy).**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Eventually the group reached the Stone Dais. Emil looked around. "Nothing here seems out of the ordinary."

"Maybe your summon spirit might be able to tell," Colette said.

"Summon Spirit?" Marta was confused.

Tenebrae appeared in an instant. "I believe she is referring to me."

"Yes, you, doggie! I'm talking about you!"

Tenebrae got irked, "I am neither a 'doggie' nor a summon spirit. I am a Centurion, Centurion Tenebrae, but you can just call me Tenebrae."

"All right Tenebie," Colette said, "So do you notice anything strange?"

"No not especially," Tenebrae said and then added, "And my name is not Tenebie!"

"Maybe the Stone Dais isn't the problem after all," Ichigo scratched his head only for his sixth sense to pick up something to which he reacted by shoving Marta, unsheathing Zangetsu and letting the malevolent creature collide head on with Zangetsu, before arcing upwards and flying behind him.

Marta, to Emil's misfortune, collided backwards into him, knocking them both over. Marta turned over and smiled at the head injury induced blonde. "Thanks for catching me," she said with a blush.

"N-no problem," Emil swallowed. Marta helped him to his feet and the two looked at Ichigo facing off against a giant Green and gray armored bird, shikai at the ready.

"Tenebrae what is that thing?" Ichigo asked the Centurion.

"It's a Garuda a giant flying bird monster with a special membrane that protects it, like a barrier of sorts. Fighting against would be ill advised we should…"

Ichigo swung his sword in an arc and began gathering spirit energy, "Peh I've cut through skins thicker than that thing's. Just sit tight."

"I'm telling you for your own good it won't work," Tenebrae urged.

"Save your breath Tenebrae," Rukia sighed walking next to him. "Ichigo's the type of person that has to learn through example."

Tenebrae sighed. "What a stubborn fellow."

Emil recognized the signature of the energy Ichigo was gathering. "We should back up a bit."

"Agreed," Tenebrae said.

Ichigo raised his sword above his head with both hands, blue energy coursing through it. He baited the Garuda, "All right you overgrown chicken show me what you're made of!" The Garuda squawked and charged down towards Ichigo at an alarming speed. Ichigo gripped his hands tightly on Zangetsu and began to swing down, "GETSUGA," he swung down with as much force as he possibly could, "TENSHO!" Out came a fully powered Getsuga Tensho barreling towards the Garuda, engulfing the avian creature in a bright blue light.

"Incredible," Emil looked on in awe.

The light faded and the Garuda dropped out of the sky, dead. Ichigo was breathing hard, Zangetsu's blade laying against the ground, a large crack ran straight across the dais. "Wow," Rukia said, laughing a littlle as she observed the damage. "Ichigo if Raine saw this, she'd kill you."

"Surely she'd realize my actions saved lives," Ichigo stated.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever," Ichigo grumbled.

"Ichigo, I must apologize," Tenebrae said as he, Marta, Emil and Colette walked up to him and Rukia, "I didn't think your Getsuga Tensho could be powered up to such an extent. To think that you have enough power to fell a Garuda in one blow, it really is quite amazing."

"Eh that was nothing compared to some other feats I've accomplished," Ichigo said putting back Zangetsu.

"But now what? With the Stone Dais scratched like it is, it might be impossible to know what secrets it might've held," Colette said, rather saddened.

Suddenly the core on Marta's forehead gave of a bright glow and suddenly the crack Ichigo created in the dais flashed white and began to spread out like a fissure. The ground also began to shake.

"Earthquake!" Emil shouted in panic. Everyone began to run off the dais, save Marta.

"Aaaah! AAAAHHH!" she shrieked as though panicked and pained at the same time.

"Marta!" Emil turned back around towards her.

"Ratatosk's core is reacting to the Stone Dais!" Tenebrae exclaimed.

"What's going to happen to Marta?" Rukia shouted.

"There's no telling what might happen, I really don't like the looks of these tremors," Tenebrae stated.

Emil switched into his alternate personality, "Marta!" He sprinted forward at top speed. As he stepped onto the Stone Dais the ground began to cave in beneath the two of them. Emil reached out to grab Marta by the hand.

"Emil!" Marta reached out to her knight. She barely missed grabbing him. Emil then bravely, and without warning, jumped into the crumbling dais after Marta.

"Emil!" Ichigo shouted, worried for the young lad.

As Marta and Emil plunged downward in what seemed like a very far way down to the unknown abyss Emil bounced off of large boulders and eventually managed to grab hold of Marta, hooking his arm around her waist. "I've got you," he told her. He pushed off another boulder, unsheathed his sword and jammed it into the wall, gripping the handle tightly with one hand and holding Marta with the other. Her stomach lay flat against his upper arm like she was a coat being hung over a metal bar.

"Emil," Marta called out to him.

"It's okay," he said, "I'm right here and I'm not going to let you go."

Marta swooned, "You're so heroic."

Emil blushed, "J-just don't squirm and we'll be fine." He tried to pull himself up, but to no avail. _Damn it, if I was just a little bit stronger I could pull myself up and just wall jump the rest of the way out of this damn hole. _

"Emil," Marta said normally.

"What is it?" Emil asked.

"I think there's some form of temple down there," she said.

"Are you saying I should let go?" Emil asked, "We'll die if we fall from this height, and even if we survive I'll be unarmed." _What are the others doing up there? _Emil wondered. "Hey!" he called up to the entrance, "We're not dead down here! A little help please!" there was no response. "Damn it," Emil looked down at the ground. "Can't Tenebrae come down here? He can levitate can't he?"

"Indeed I can," Emil looked up to see Tenebrae materialized on the length of his sword.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?" Emil shouted moving about frantically. Marta made dizzied noises as she swayed back in forth as a result. "Sorry Marta."

"It's ok," she returned. "You didn't drop me so I'm ok." She lifted her head and scowled over to Tenebrae, "And you if you can do something help us out here would you?"

"I would, but I was finding your dilemma rather entertaining," Tenebrae chuckled.

"Damn it Tenebrae this isn't the time for jokes!" Emil growled, "Can you carry Marta out of this damn hole?"

"Wait if Tenebrae takes me what are you going to do?" Marta asked Emil.

"Without your weight to support I can pull myself up and wall jump out of the hole," Emil told her.

"I…I'm not _that_ heavy am I?" Marta said, feeling blue.

Emil sweated, "N-no of course not, you're actually pretty light," he told her and rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling, "Unfortunately not light enough for me to pull myself up with one arm."

Marta giggled, "Ok I get it."

"Tenebrae can you take her up now?" Emil asked him.

"Of course," the Centurion complied. Tenebrae allowed Marta to sit on his back and carried her up to the surface. Emil then pulled himself up and put his feet up on the wall and in a single motion pulled his sword out, pushed off the wall and bounced from wall to wall until he jumped out onto solid ground. He then returned to his normal self.

"Are you guys ok?" Ichigo asked Emil and Marta.

Marta giggled, "I'm fine, after all I had my knight to protect me."

Emil took half a step back and blushed heavily.

Marta's demeanor turned to a serious one, "There's a temple down there by the way. If we could somehow get down there without simply jumping down we might get closer to finding the answer to these strange wind patterns."

Rukia stepped up towards the now ruined stone dais and put her hand on one of the pillars that was still standing, "Well seeing as Ichigo already damaged an invaluable ruin of the Sylvarant Dynasty I suppose there's no harm in doing a little more."

"How is that Earthquake my fault?" Ichigo asked.

"If you hadn't created that crack there wouldn't have been an earthquake now would there?" Rukia asked.

"What was I supposed to do? That Garuda was about to attack Marta," Ichigo shot back.

"It sure sounded like Tenebrae knew of some alternative, you didn't have to go and play hero," Rukia argued.

Marta, Emil and Colette stood by as Ichigo and Rukia continued to argue back and forth, "Just what exactly is the relationship with those two anyway?" Marta asked.

"Ichigo and Rukia are really good friends," Colette answered with a really big smile.

"Friends?" Emil questioned. "They sure don't act like it."

"Ichigo and Rukia really do care about each other," Colette said with serious passion, but then returned to her cheery demeanor and added, "Otherwise they wouldn't argue so much."

"I guess," Emil gave in.

"Urgh! You're impossible you know that!" Rukia shouted as Ichigo began making a face at her. She leaned forward at him scowling, "You're eighteen! Act like it!"

"Um," Emil spoke up to try and stop all the arguing, "Rukia what were you going to do before you started arguing with Ichigo?"

The argument ended on a dime and Rukia took on a more professional demeanor. "Oh right, sorry about that."

_She changed her attitude so quickly, _Emil thought to himself.

Rukia turned back towards the hole and unsheathed her sword, "I planned on doing this," she twirled her blade, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" She pointed her blade down into the hole, "Tsugi no Mai! Hakuren!" She created a slanted path with her attack that led part way down into the hole. She stood upright and faced the group, "I can use Sode no Shirayuki to create a multi-sectioned safe walkway down to the bottom of the pit."

Colette laughed happily a little, "You're Zanpakuto's pretty handy."

"Yes it can create as well as destroy," she said and sneered at Ichigo, "Unlike some people."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked crossly.

"I think she's implying you can't do anything but destroy things Ichigo," Tenebrae bluntly stated. Ichigo gave Tenebrae a displeased look. "What? You asked."

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

We all followed Rukia down to the bottom of the pit into some strange ruins lined with Jade and bronze walls and floors. Tenebrae's head picked up like a cat on high alert the moment he stepped out into the hall, "I sense the presence of a Centurion. It seems to be Centurion Ventus."

The group turned their heads towards Rukia. "It looks like you were right," Emil said to her. Rukia nodded.

"And if the core is still here that means Lloyd hasn't gotten to it yet," Marta danced happily.

Colette looked depressed, "Lloyd."

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey no sweat we'll find Lloyd and if I have to I'll beat the answer straight out of him."

"I know it's just…this is all so hard to believe," Colette seemed rather down.

"What? You don't believe us?" Marta asked with an attitude.

Colette shook her head, "N-no not all I trust you, really I do, it's just," she looked back down at the ground, "I just don't understand why someone like Lloyd would do this."

"Colette," Emil spoke up, "If Lloyd's so important to you does that mean the two of you were...you know…"

Colette flushed, "A-ah…w-well…a-about that…"

"Hey do you really need know something like that?" I defended Colette's discomfort, "You make it seem like you're going to use that knowledge against Lloyd."

Emil retracted from his inquiry, "What? N-no, I was just…"

Marta huffed, "I knew it! You do so like her! You are such a jerk!" She dragged Colette by the hand, "Come on, you need to stay away from him!"

"Um…okay," Colette said disoriented.

"It's tough being the target of affection isn't it," Tenebrae snickered.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Emil said to him, rather ticked off. Tenebrae just continued to laugh to himself.

Seeing as I was in a perfect position to do so I mimicked Emil's voice, "But Marta you're the only girl I could ever care about."

Emil looked at me like I had just betrayed him. "C-cut it out would…urk!"

Marta had returned to Emil's side in seconds and was hugging him from behind, "Really Emil? Do you really mean that? Oh I knew I was the one meant for you. Don't be looking at other girls okay." Emil just reacted like he did the last time: speechless and flushed in the face. I couldn't help, but laugh only to find a hand whack me at the back of the head.

"Ow!" I looked at Rukia, "Hey! No hitting!"

"You're gonna get her hopes up over nothing when it's clear the poor kid doesn't do well around women," Rukia told me.

"So," I rubbed my sore temple, "all he needs is a little push right?"

"Ironic coming from someone who didn't want to be in a serious relationship at all when we first met," Rukia returned.

"Quiet you! At least I have a girlfriend. You couldn't get a date if you tried," I replied.

Rukia returned by upper cutting me in the jaw, "Honest to god! I don't know _how_ Sheena puts up with you!"

"You wanna know why?" I shouted after her, "Cause Sheena's not a total bitch like you!"

"There they go again," I heard Marta say.

"Uh huh," Emil added.

"The peanut gallery can be quiet," I simmered.

We continued along, following Tenebrae in the right direction towards Ventus when a creature that looked like a cross between a cobra and a regular lizard crawled out from around a corner and hissed at us. Its tail rattled back and forth violently.

"What's going on?" Colette asked.

I looked at Emil, "It seems our friend here has attracted another monster competing for the rank of alpha male."

"Indeed," Tenebrae agreed, "Emil, could you be so kind as to…"

"Way ahead of you," came the Emil that sounded exactly like me as he drew out his sword to face off against the creature and began to fight it.

"So what kind of creature is that?" I asked as I watched.

"It's called a serpent, if Emil forms a pact with it, it could prove very useful to our little group of followers," Tenebrae answered.

"An imp, a wolf, a bunny, and a lizard…that's not exactly the kind of team you would expect people to save the world to have."

"Bunny?" Rukia's attention snapped out of nowhere.

_Oops. _

She looked at Tenebrae with a frantic expression, "Where is it?"

Tenebrae summoned the sphere and handed it to Rukia, "right here. It's under my seal and Emil's command as it has formed a pact with us."

"Unseal it right now!" Rukia cried with glee, "I wanna see it!"

Tenebrae sighed, "Very well." There was a puff of smoke, causing Rukia to cough, but when it cleared the pink rabbit Emil made a contract with was being held by her.

She took one look at it and started smothering it with a tight hug, "KAWAIIIIIII!" she squealed.

"I'm confused," Marta said tilting her head, "What's the big deal it's just a rabbit?"

_No Marta don't…_

"Just a rabbit?" Rukia twitched, "Just a rabbit?" There was fire in her eyes. "It's not just a rabbit," she held it out at arm's length, "It's the most adorable little ball of fluff in the whole world," She snuggled it to her only to add possessively, "And it's all mine!"

"Um, Rukia if I could have it…" Tenebrae reached out his tail.

"No touching! Mine!" Rukia shouted and crawled over to the corner and began petting the rabbit affectionately.

"Aw cute," Colette clapped.

"S-scary," Marta peeped.

There was a flash of energy from behind us as a seal sphere with the fire emblem dropped to the ground which Tenebrae called back the creature to him. Emil walked over to the others and saw Rukia in the corner and the happy wild rabbit in her lap. "Um, why is Rukia…"

"You're best not knowing," I told him.

"Oh, sorry," Emil said. I sighed.

"My precious, you're my precious, yes you are, you're so precious," Rukia talked cutely as she pet the rabbit over and over as it cooed with delight.

"Um, Rukia we need to get going," I told her.

"Ok," she stood up, still holding the rabbit.

"Um, Rukia aren't you going to…"

"Cotton stays with me at all times. She doesn't want to go back in the Seal Sphere," she started petting him again, "It's dark and dank and no place for such a cutesy wutesy, fuzzy wuzzy adorable little creature like her to be."

"Cotton?" Emil tilted his head.

"I think she just named it," I said with a blank expression and then said normally, "You know Byakuya's never going to let you keep that."

"We'll see," Rukia said and walked briskly down the corridor cradling the rabbit.

"I have a feeling that wild rabbit's never going to see any battles," Tenebrae said depressingly.

"Ditto," I agreed.

"Her name is Cotton!" we heard Rukia shout from down the hall. We all sighed.

_This is going to be a long trip, _I said to myself.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Sorry this chapter's a little short, but I'm hungry so what can you do. And yeah Rukia's getting a little demented crazy over her rabbit friend, but considering this is Rukia we're talking about…anyway I'll see you guys all later. Must go get food!)**


	7. Windy Days

**(A/N: Valentine's day is almost here and what better way to celebrate the approaching holiday than with a new chapter of ToB: RotS. Enjoy folks.)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

We all walked together with Rukia holding her little pet in her arms while telling it how cute it was and stroke its fur and ears. I swear I don't think she'll ever let go of it except for battle. There were a bunch of monsters around, but not a lot of them were hostile enough to attack us.

"There sure are a lot of monsters around," Emil said.

"You think this is all because of Ventus' Core?" Marta questioned.

"Most likely," Tenebrae stated, "I suspect that the Garuda we encountered here earlier was also drawn by Ventus' powers."

"But once Marta hatches the core, Ventus would wake up and all of that would stop, right?" Colette asked.

"That's right," Tenebrae said.

"Well let's do our best to get it then," Emil said, "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality."

"What's that?" Colette asked him, "Some form of Centurion oath?"

"N-no," Emil responded, "It's just a mantra of mine."

"It has a nice ring to it," Marta giggled.

Emil looked over to her, "Oh, so should I add 'Come on, you're a man! Speak up!' to the list as well?"

Marta blushed and put her hands by her mouth, "Hey, don't be a jerk."

"Ah! Cotton come back here!" I looked over to Rukia to see that her pet had wrenched free from her grasp and was bounding forward on its own. "We need to chase after Cotton everyone!" she declared.

"Go by yourself," I told her, "We're here for Ventus."

"Actually it seems the little fellow has run off in the direction of the core. Going after him would not be detrimental to the task at hand," Tenebrae stated.

"Yeah so come on," Rukia ran after her pet.

"Damn it," I growled. We all tried to keep up at Rukia's pace until we reached what I could only guess was Ventus' altar. Rukia found her pet just sitting in the middle of the room staring at this glowing, green, seed shaped object.

Rukia got right behind her pet and scooped it up in her arms. "Gotcha!" she cried, "Don't run away from me like that."

"So is that green thing Ventus' Core?" I asked Tenebrae.

"Indeed."

Suddenly Colette cried out, "Rukia look out!" Colette ran over to Rukia and tripped. A blast of wind sailed over both of their heads and blasted down a nearby wall. A large blue demonic-looking creature suddenly materialized in front of the altar. It looked like a large blue Djinn, with an axe blade for a tail and wings made out of condensed wind.

"Wh-what is that?" I questioned.

"I-I dunno," Colette looked up, "but it looks awfully similar to that monster that Uryu destroyed."

"But that's impossible, we both saw Uryu turn that thing into dust," I cried out.

"That is not a monster, that is Ventus," Tenebrae stated.

"That's Ventus!" I cried out.

"But how can that be? Ventus' core is on the altar," Rukia stated.

"I don't know, but that creature's aura most certainly belongs to Ventus," Tenebrae stated.

_But if that's Ventus…_

* * *

Flashback

"_I have come for the girl!"_

End Flashback

* * *

Flashback

"_I agree it seems like quite a foolish name, but 'demon lord' is the most appropriate term to describe what he is. If Ratatosk awakens, the world will be destroyed."_

End Flashback

* * *

_Does that mean that what Richter says is true? Are we on a quest to lead the world to destruction? _I looked at Emil. _And if so, what does that mean for Emil? He made a pact with Ratatosk. Damn it! Why do things have to be so complicated?_

"Hey! Quit spacing out!" I heard Emil impersonating my voice and realized that I had a wind blast sailing in my direction. I blocked with my sword.

"What do we do?" I questioned.

"We have to defeat it. What else?" Marta asked rhetorically, preparing her spinner.

_Damn it. _I ran forward and made to attack Ventus and dodged an incoming wind blast.

"Hado 33 Sokatsui!" Rukia fired a kido blast at it, but it blocked with its wing. I leapt up in the air and made to come down from above, but Ventus swung at me and hit me with a wind blast at point blank. I was flung onto my ass and got up.

"First Aid!" It seemed Marta knew healing artes.

"Grand Chariot!" Colette tossed her chakrams in a cross formation and they zig-zagged towards Ventus creating lightning in their wake. But he brushed off Colette's attack like it was nothing and then attacked Colette with a lightning blast of his own.

"Colette!" I shouted and ran to shield her, but I didn't make it in time. Instead the wild rabbit took the hit for Colette.

"Cotton!" Rukia ran towards her pet in anguish. She cradled it in her arms. "No," Rukia cradled her rabbit in her arms. "Live! Cotton! Please…please!" A tear splashed from Rukia's face onto the rabbit and a white glow gave off from it, enveloping it. "H-huh?"

"This sensation, the wild rabbit is evolving," Tenebrae stated.

"Evolving?" I questioned.

"Monsters change form as they grow and develop, by absorbing mana but it's too soon for this monster unless it's been feeding off of Rukia's mana the entire time she was holding it," Tenebrae stated, "Most monsters gain experience and become stronger as they battle, but it seems this monster has been so attached to Rukia in the time she had it that her will for it to live has sparked this transformation."

"Cotton?" Rukia gasped and set the glowing rabbit down on the ground. The cunicular creature morphed and grew about two feet taller, now standing about half of Rukia's height. Its fur was now white and it had patches of cornflower colored fur in certain places.

"Congratulations," Tenebrae exclaimed, "It appears Cotton is living up to her name as a Cotton Tail species of rabbit monster."

"So now what?" I asked turning back to Ventus whom Emil was currently engaging in battle alongside Marta. "That thing," I indicated the monster we were fighting, "Is still twice just Rukia's size. We're still outclassed."

"Not necessarily," Tenebrae stated and looked at Cotton, "Please assist Lord Emil."

Cotton nodded and bounded forward a bit. "Tenebrae what are you up to?" I asked.

"Watch," he stated.

I observed as some form of multi-colored energy flowed from Cotton to Emil. Upon the moment of contact Emil's next swing was so much more powerful that when it connected with Ventus' tail, actually pierced right through the Centurion's tough skin. "Wh-what is that?"

"It's called unification," Tenebrae stated, "As a Knight of Ratatosk if Emil is given Mana willingly by four monsters and one humanoid ally he can utilize what is known as a unison attack."

"Then call out the other monsters," Rukia said taking a stance, "I'll offer Emil the support he needs."

"Very good then," Tenebrae said and summoned the imp, wolf and serpent. Each one gave Emil a fragment of their mana followed by Rukia. I saw the incredible effects of the results when Emil was able to dispel one of Ventus' wind blasts with a wave of his hand.

"Is that the best you can do?" he mocked Ventus with a fierce gaze. The giant djinn backed up.

"Phoenix Rush!" Emil swung down, front flipped adding an additional swing and then backflipped letting off a shockwave from the backing thrust. Pure mana began to poor from Ventus' body where Emil had created lacerations, "All right Ventus," Emil said and held his sword above his head with both his hands. There was a flash of energy and a circle of orange energy appeared underneath Emil, the power of which seemed to be flowing into his sword, which began sparking with energy that was mixed with various dark colors. The same energy had Ventus frozen in place. "It's over! Devil's Maw!" Emil leapt high into the air and came slamming down onto the ground erupting a pillar of negative energy in his wave, which tore Ventus in half and all of his energy went into the seed sitting on the altar. Emil returned to his normal self.

Marta ran up and threw her arms around him, "You did it Emil! You're so awesome!" she cried out with glee. Emil laughed nervously.

"There's one thing I still don't get," I said. "We defeated that creature a long time ago when Uryu shot it down. How did it come back to life?"

Tenebrae was quick to explain, "Most likely due to the dormant state of Ventus' core."

Rukia seemed to understand what I was getting at, "No, wait, Ichigo has a point. If Uryu's the one who shot it down then it couldn't come back to life so easily."

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"Soul Reapers purify souls and rebirth them anew. Quincy powers destroy souls in their entirety," Rukia stated.

"Maybe they're not the same then," Colette said, "Maybe that creature was just a…I think the professor's terminology would be a fail-safe. You know, to protect the core from grave robbers."

"But if that were the case Ventus should've recognized Emil as a Knight of Ratatosk and Ratatosk' core on Marta's forehead," Tenebrae stated.

"We're thinking about things too much," I grumbled and swiped Ventus' core off the altar.

"Ichigo, wait! That's dangerous!" Marta snatched Ventus' core out of my hands.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?"

"Ichigo, Lady Marta just protected your sanity. Show a little gratitude," Tenebrae said with a little bit of an attitude.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Tenebrae, as usual, was prepared with an explanation, "When Centurions are in a core state, they're dormant. During that time their power is out of control. They can attract monsters and cause abnormalities in nature, even disasters. It's impossible for human beings to maintain their sanity while in contact with such a powerful being."

"Wait are you serious?" I asked.

"If a normal person holds a Centurion's core, they get drawn into its chaos, and their mind is destroyed, which is why you shouldn't even think about touching it," Marta said meticulously.

"But what about you? You're holding the core right now," Rukia pointed out.

Marta pointed to the core on her forehead, "I have Ratatosk's protection so I'll be ok." She lowered her arm. "You, Rukia, Emil and Colette need to be careful."

"All right, geez," I sighed.

"Lady Marta, please hatch the core," Tenebrae told her.

"Right," Marta said. She held the core with both hands, as if she was holding a lunch tray, closed her eyes and focused her energy. The core levitated above her hands. Marta opened her eyes and lifted her arms up. The core floated high into the air. The seed like object peeled away, as if the seed shape was just the skin on a piece of fruit, revealing a green orb with a pair of white wings etched into it, like a symbol of some sort.

"Ventus has awoken," Tenebrae stated and turned towards Emil, "As Ventus' powers return, as a Knight of Ratatosk, you should also awaken to new powers."

"But since Ventus is the centurion of wind we'll need to recruit wind elemental monsters right?" I asked.

"Correct," Tenebrae stated, "However, Emil should awaken to new powers simply from hatching Ventus."

"Like what?" I asked.

"I guess I'll find out next time I go into battle," Emil said.

"Ow," Marta yelped we all looked over to our serpent friend, which was had nipped her finger and was now twitching, as was the wolf, and the imp. They all started to glow white.

"Marta are you ok?" Emil asked her.

"I'm fine, it's just a little bite on the hand, no skin broken," she said. "But if you want to look," she said squirming in place, "I don't mind."

"N-no that's ok," Emil said taking a half a step back, "If you think it's nothing it's not a big deal."

"Tenebie, Are they all evolving?" Colette asked referring to the monsters

"Yes," Tenebrae stated, "It seems that Emil's sudden increase in power, and the use of his unison attack to defeat such a powerful foe, has allowed our monster companions to evolve. And my name is _Tenebrae_"

"That's so awesome," Marta danced in place.

"Well hopefully they'll reflect to be something a little more menacing than a wolf cub, a half-foot hollow-imitator and a cobra mixed with a skink," I said.

"I wonder which one will evolve first," Rukia said, "Of course none of them will be as awesome and cute as my little Cotton," she hugged her Rabbit companion. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

The first to evolve was the serpent. It took the shape of a bi-pedal reptile with wings. It looked like the cross between a Tyrannosaurus-Rex and a chicken. It had blue scales and a yellow crest on its head. It was about half an inch shorter than Rukia's rabbit and had a good amount of sharp fangs. "It appears our serpent friend has evolved to the Lizard class," Tenebrae declared.

"Well at least it looks a little menacing," I said. The next thing to evolve was the imp. All it did was double in size and its outer skin turned green. "That's it?"

"It appears our imp friend has evolved into a classification of monster known as a Gremlin," Tenebrae stated.

"Ok that just leaves the wolf then," Rukia said.

The wolf transformed until it was its full grown size. Before it had been about the size of a cub, now it was fully grown. Its fur was a mix of dark gray and beige as opposed to blue-gray before. "A black wolf, simply splendid," Tenebrae cheered.

"What's so great about a monster that's barely bigger than you?" I asked.

"How rude," Tenebrae jeered, "Black Wolves are the heart and soul of the dark elemental monsters. They are the most common breed of dark elemental monster and they are by far the easiest to tame."

"Wait, so monsters can change elements when they evolve?" I asked.

"They can indeed. Our serpent friend was originally of the fire elemental affiliation but is now of the water element," Tenebrae stated.

"Water element," Emil took half a step back in fright.

"Do not fret. This Lizard is on our side. Because of Aqua's abandonment most water elemental monsters are neutral or are loyal to Lord Ratatosk. Rest assured this lizard is loyal to you and only you Emil," Tenebrae assured the kid.

"O-okay," Emil seemed to be at ease with that explanation.

"Well now what?" I asked.

"First thing's first," Rukia said, "We _should_ get out of this hole."

"Indeed," Tenebrae agreed.

* * *

**Asgard**

**Emil's pov**

We arrived back on the surface; the only monster of mine that hadn't been de-summoned was Cotton. Rukia refused to allow it out of her sight despite the fact that it was now too big for her to carry.

"You know I may have had my doubts before, but Byakuya is never going to let you keep a rabbit that big," Ichigo told Rukia.

"Says you," Rukia huffed.

"Say Colette," I said, "What are you going to do now?"

"Emil's right," Marta added, "The wind's died down so Asgard is safe."

Colette didn't respond. I looked over to her. She seemed kind of down, "Colette?"

"Hey, are you okay?" Marta asked her.

"I'm worried about Lloyd," she said and picked her head up, getting all pent up, "If Centurion's cores are as dangerous if you say and Lloyd is collecting them then…"

"Hey yeah, maybe that's it," Ichigo joined the conversation.

Rukia did too, "Yes if Lloyd is after Centurion's cores perhaps that would explain his sudden change in attitude and his fit of rage in attacking Matsumoto-fukutaicho."

"Rukia…is Rangiku really…" Colette said depressingly.

Rukia walked up to Colette and put a hand on her shoulder, "She has the battle scars to prove it Colette. I'm sorry."

"Colette, you should come with us," Ichigo said, "We're all after Lloyd. And when we find him we can tell him about the dangers of the cores."

"Thank you Ichigo," Colette said, "But I'm going to go my own way from here."

"But why?" Rukia asked.

"Did you guys see Yuan at all?" Colette asked.

"Yeah, he acted like he had a bug up his ass," Ichigo said.

Colette was confused, "He wasn't that way to me."

"He wasn't?" I inquired.

"He told me that he was too busy to tell me where Lloyd was, but that if I was looking for him that I'd better use my goddess given wings and fly after him because Lloyd acquired a Rheaird," Colette said.

"You call that not being stuck up?" Marta questioned with a glazed look.

"So that's how he escaped us so fast back in Luin," Ichigo said.

"What's a Rheaird?" I asked.

"It's a flying machine that runs on Mana. It's easier travel than flash step. If Lloyd's got one of those we'd never be able to catch up with him on our own. Colette has wings so she can fly," Ichigo explained.

"That's right," I watched as bright pink wings emanated from Colette's back. They were amazing. "That's why I'm going to go after Lloyd like this."

"Well good luck," Ichigo told her.

"Thank you," Colette beamed.

"Colette! Wait!" Marta called out to her.

"Huh? What is it?" Colette said.

"I just want to say…I'm sorry," Marta said.

"You're…sorry? For what?" Colette wanted to know.

"For shoving you earlier," Marta answered, "I…still can't forgive you for what happened to my Mom, but I know you never meant for that to happen to Palmacosta."

"Marta," Colette seemed happy. I was too. I was glad Marta and Colette were getting along.

"We're friends…right?" Marta tilted her head.

"Yes absolutely!" Colette beamed. She then looked around to the rest of us, "Um…so I guess I'll see you all around."

"Take care Colette," Ichigo told her.

"I will," Colette smiled and flew away.

"Well let's get a move on," Ichigo said.

"Where?" I asked.

"Where else? To the inn," he said.

"Isn't your family going to worry about you if you stay overnight, and what about Sheena?" Rukia asked him.

"I've made overnight trips here before so it's no big deal. And Sheena doesn't know I'm here. It's a little disappointing, but it's got to wait. Saving the world comes first," Ichigo told her.

"Well, all right, suit yourself," Rukia and Ichigo walked off towards the inn. Marta and I followed suit.

"Well she's gone," I said, referring to Colette.

"Yeah," Marta agreed.

"You know for someone who's supposed to be the Chosen of Regeneration, Colette wasn't aloof at all. She was pretty down to earth," I said.

"If by down to Earth you mean ditzy, then yeah," Marta stated, taking a jab at her.

"Ok so she was a little spacey, but there was something soothing about her," I said.

"Oh, so she soothed you did she?" Marta asked, slightly irked.

_How did that tick her off? _I wondered, "N-no…I-I mean…I-I just found it easy to relax around her."

"That sounds like soothing to me," Marta said raising her voice.

"Why are you getting so angry?" I asked nervously.

"Who says I'm angry?" Marta stomped away. I sighed.

* * *

**The next morning**

**Outskirts of Asgard**

**Ichigo's pov**

We gathered at the town entrance to discuss our next course of action. "So, this is your journey Marta, where to?" I asked.

"Well I thought we could possibly get some information on Lloyd if we go to Iselia, that's his hometown right?" she asked.

"Iselia's on the other side of the ocean though," I reminded her.

"Then we'll charter a boat," she declared.

"Palmacosta it is then," Rukia sighed, "Looks like there's no way around it."

"Something wrong Rukia?" I asked.

"It's nothing," she muttered something to herself.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"If I wanted you to hear it I would've said it louder," Rukia said.

"Well, excuse me," I said.

"Um, I don't exactly know what the problem is, but we're going to Palmacosta right?" Emil asked.

I nodded. "Well then shall we depart?" Tenebrae asked. We all agreed and headed off.

* * *

**Hakonesia Peak**

In order to get to Palmacosta we had to pass through Hakonesia Peak. I remembered when I came here on my first journey here. It was when Magnius was causing a ruckus in Palmacosta. Before I could fully start reminiscing though I was pulled by my collar.

"What's the big id…" Rukia placed her hand over my mouth.

"Shh," she pointed farther down the hill where Hawk and Alice were.

"A messenger has just informed us that the Chosen is headed in the direction of Luin," Hawk told Alice.

"Aww, Decus is in charge of that area right now," Alice faux whined, "That's no fun. Guess we should focus on the Centurion's cores."

"Also we have word that Lady Marta seems to be headed in this direction," Hawk told her.

_How'd they know we were coming? _I wondered.

Alice lit up, "Oh Martmart's coming?" she giggled, "Then I'll leave the Centurion's cores to you Hawkie and I'll set up a little ambush for our sweet little Martmart when she arrives in Palmacosta." Alice and Hawk then split up.

"Marta?" Emil looked at her.

"We don't have much of a choice. We'll just have to do our best to steer clear of Alice," she said.

"Hey if it comes down to it, I'm sure your knight will be more than happy to protect you," I pat Emil on the back.

Marta gasped with glee. "You're right," she looked at Emil like she was an innocent little maiden, "What would I do without you?"

Emil laughed nervously, taking half a step back.

Rukia was the next to say something, "Come on, we shouldn't dawdle." We all agreed and started heading down the mountain only for Emil to freeze in place and start hyperventilating.

"Emil!" I ran over to him. He just held his hands to his head and started screaming.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" I started shaking him. After a few moments he started to calm down. His breathing regulated. "What the heck was that all about?"

"I…I don't know. I-I had this weird this weird vision all of a sudden. M-maybe it was a dream," he said.

"Do you want to take a rest?" Rukia asked, "having a premonition like that completely out of nowhere isn't exactly something you should brush off."

Emil shook his head, "No, I'm fine," he responded, "Let's go."

"His color seems to have mostly returned. It's probably safe to keep going," Tenebrae said before anyone else could say anything.

"See? Tenebrae thinks I'm fine too," Emil said, almost as if resting would be a bad thing.

"All right, if you say so," I shrugged.

"If you don't feel well let us know," Rukia said.

"And if you want to rest you can use my lap as a pillow," Marta added, beaming.

"I-I'm fine…really," Emil blushed.

"Well then, shall we keep going?" Tenebrae asked. We all agreed.

* * *

**Palmacosta**

"It's been six months," Emil stated.

"Sounds about right," Rukia stated.

"Wait? That Blood Purge thing happened six months ago?" I asked, "With the way you're all hanging on about it, it seemed like it was something recent."

"Clearance to Soul Society takes a while and even then it's not like Matsumoto-fukutaicho would be recovering any time soon with the injuries she received," Rukia stated.

I sighed, "So what do we do?"

"Let's split up and see what kind of information we can gather," Marta said.

"Wait, I thought we were just seeing if we could get a boat to Iselia," I said.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to check to see if Lloyd's been here," Rukia stated, "It's like nii-sama always tells me 'the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime'."

"Well that's fine and all," Emil put in, "But what about Alice?"

"We'll break up into groups of three then," Marta said.

"Groups of three?" Emil questioned, "But there's only five of us including Tenebrae."

"Ahem," I cleared my throat and then pointed to the cotton tail near Rukia.

"O-oh right," Emil realized his mistake.

"Let's split up according to gender," Marta suggested.

"Wait why?" Emil asked.

"Marta has a good idea there," Rukia defended Marta's decision, "Alice seems to have a 'thing' for Ichigo and if Tenebrae is with you guys he can locate us via Ratatosk's core."

"Besides, there are a few things I want to ask Rukia about her investigation with the vanguard, amongst other things," Marta stated. I could only imagine what "other things" was in reference to when she shot an unconscious glance towards Emil.

"Well if everyone's ok with the groups let's split up then," I said. We each went our separate ways. Marta, Rukia and Cotton headed off to the docks and Emil, Tenebrae and I headed east towards the governor's building. As we did we noticed someone we both recognized.

"Richter!" Emil ran over to him.

"Emil, wait!" I called out to him, but then figured so long as Marta wasn't with us I guess Richter didn't have much of a reason to act hostile towards him…I wasn't so sure about myself. I sighed and approached them both.

Richter turned around just as I caught up with Emil, "Oh Emil and…Ichigo?"

"Huh, what is it?" I asked.

"It's nothing, I'm just going to safely assume the 'you' I saw earlier with a guy wearing wooden shoes and a dark skinned woman was your mod-soul."

"Yeah, I'm still battle ready…wait you saw Kon?" I asked.

"I did, but I didn't approach, I'm not exactly the social type," he stated.

"That figures," I said, "Where were you when you saw them?" I asked.

"The Research City of Sybak, why?" he asked.

"Just want to keep track is all," I said, "Anyways what are you doing here? And where's Aqua?"

"I could ask you the same question. What brings you both to Palmacosta?" he asked, completely ignoring my other question.

Emil was the one to answer, "I'm on a journey. I'm looking for Lloyd and the Centurion's cores. Anyway are you ok? You were hurt pretty badly."

"There's still some pain, but I have only myself to blame. The fact that I lost to such a fool pains me more," Richter stated.

_Oh sure go ahead and answer Emil's questions…and did he just crack a joke?_

"Oh Richter! There you are!"

I shuddered, _there's only one voice I know that's that annoying. _I turned around to see Alice. She walked towards our group, "Richter, are you looking for Martmart too?" She took notice of Emil, "Hey you're Martmart's pet."

I was about to cut in front of Emil, but for some reason Richter beat me to it, "Alice, he is an acquaintance of mine."

"You're on his side?" she asked disbelievingly. She then said sweetly, "You know, if you'd just let me play with him a little, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tell us where Martmart is."

Richter drew his weapons, "I said he's my acquaintance," he said getting angry, "If you don't know what that means!"

"Ooh, so scary," Alice pretended to be intimidated. She then took notice of me, "Oh, Berry Onii-chan you're here too."

I glared at her, "What's it to you?"

"Richter, I'm sure you don't have any problem letting me talk to him for a few minutes do you?" Alice asked.

"He may not, but I do. We're enemies," I told her.

"Now, now," Alice said tapping her riding crop into her hand, "The only enemy around her for me is Martmart."

"Oh really, what about what happened in Asgard?" I asked her.

"You were just assimilating with my enemy; I don't hold that against you." She started talking like a little child again, "Can't we just have a little conversation as two people?"

"I-Ichigo," Emil seemed worried for me.

"Relax, if she's nicknamed me she probably won't try anything. I'll be back in a little bit. Whatever you do, don't tell Marta or Rukia."

"O-okay," Emil answered.

"Yay," Alice beamed, "Let's go inside the academy. We have the first floor rented out so no one will bother us."

* * *

**Palmacosta Academy**

**Empty Classroom**

I made sure Alice entered the room in front of me and I made sure she was the one to close the door after I entered. Just to be cautious. I sat down in the teacher's seat and put my feet up on the desk, "So what do you want?"

"I have a proposition for you Berry Onii-chan," she said, "I was wondering if you might consider joining the Vanguard."

"Oh sure," I said nonchalantly and then moved my feet off the desk and slammed them on the ground and my hands on the desk, "When pigs fly!"

"That can be arranged," Alice smiled sweetly.

"You're missing the point!" I shouted, "The hell makes you think I would want to join the Vanguard?"

"Do you even know what the Vanguard stands for Berry Onii-chan?" Alice asked me.

"That's…" I didn't actually.

"The Vanguard is our nickname, but our true name is the Sylvaranti Liberation Front. We were created so that we could liberate the Sylvaranti. For someone who hasn't been here in a while though it should come as no surprise," she said.

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"Richter told me, or didn't you know he was a member of the Vanguard?" she asked.

"Um…no not really," I admitted. "So what do the Sylvaranti need liberating from anyway?"

"From the Tethe'allans. Ever since the world was regenerated the Sylvaranti have been slandered and looked upon as Neanderthals by the Tethe'allan people. We're trying to show that we are equal," Alice told me.

"And fighting is how you choose to solve your problems? You started the Blood Purge to show your patriotism and Palmacosta is a Sylvarant city!" I shouted.

"Oh we didn't start it. It was all the Church of Martel's doing. We were keeping Ratatosk's core and holding ourselves up here to protect the town from Lloyd and the Church of Martel," Alice said and pointed her riding crop at me, "And that's why we need you. Commander Brute needs a strong figurehead and I think you'll do just fine. After all you're the only one I know with power to stand up to Lloyd, Berry Onii-chan."

"Would you stop calling me that? You act like you know me, but I don't know you at all. I think I'd remember a blonde, sadistic little twerp," I told her acrimoniously.

She giggled, "I've broken people's arms to the point where the bones stick out of their skin for talking that way to me, but since it's you I'll forgive you. And if you don't remember who I am, then I have one thing to say to you: it was twenty months ago. The location was Asgard."

* * *

Flashback

_**3**__**rd**__** Person pov**_

_A couple of villagers were beating up on a small half-elven girl. She had blonde hair and was wearing rags. Her friend, a human, was face down in the dirt, unconscious, having tried to stand up for her, and failed miserably. The half-elf girl had tried to defend herself with magic, but the bullies were holding her arms and one was beating up on her with a Shinai. The blonde half-elf stood there with a fierce look on her face. _

"_Geez how many more times do we have to hit her? She's not even crying," one of the bullies said._

"_I won't cry," the half-elf girl cried out, "I'm not the usual pathetic half-elf you beat up. I don't give in just because you think you've beaten me. When I get out of this bind I'll make you all pay!"_

_One of the bullies kicked her in the stomach. The blonde half-elf felt every bit of the pain from the strike and tried her hardest not to flinch. "Man this is getting boring," one of the bullies said. _

"_I know let's rip off her clothes and have a little fun with her. It's not like anyone's going to care about some pathetic half-elf," another bully suggested._

_The blonde half-elf began to struggle. Physical pain she could take. She was used to it, but rape was something entirely different. She managed to break free and fell to the ground on her stomach. Bad position. _Someone help me. _She thought to herself._

"_What the hell is going on over here?" A boisterous voice thundered._

"_Cheese it! It's Ichigo Kurosaki!" The bullies ran off in scampered directions. _

_The blonde half-elf girl looked over to the orange haired teen she saw him turn towards a figure next to him and say something, but she could hardly hear anything as the pain was finally catching up to her, and the sunlight was blocking her vision. "I…chi…go…Kuro…saki." She muttered to herself and the last thing she saw was orange hair before she blacked out._

_End Flashback_

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

"So, what are you stalking me or something?" I asked.

"Not at all," Alice shook her head, "I just admire you a great deal for that. You saved my life. When I came to I didn't know anything about you of course so Decus and I traveled so I could find out more about you. I was really impressed when I found out how much of a hero you were Berry Onii-chan."

"Why are you calling me that anyway? I'm not named after a strawberry you know," I told her.

"Oh?" she questioned.

"That's right," I said, "Ichi means one and go means protector so 'one protector'."

"Maybe it's that way where you come from but not here," Alice giggled. I growled under my breath. "So have you thought about my proposal?"

"If I said no," I said, and put a hand on Zangetsu's handle, "Would you try to stop me from leaving?"

"I told you before didn't I? You and I aren't enemies so long as you're not with Martmart. Chaos needs not come between you and me, Berry Onii-chan," She tilted her head and smiled innocently.

"Sorry, but I can't join the Vanguard. I promised Emil I'd help him look for Lloyd and he promised Marta he'd help her awaken Ratatosk, besides I'd turn Soul Society on me if I joined up with you. And getting on their bad side is not something you want to do, consider that a fair warning from a neutral party," I told Alice.

"I'll be sure to report that little tidbit to Commander Brute when I see him," Alice said, tapping her riding crop to her hand again. I made for the door. "If you ever change your mind though Berry Onii-chan all you have to do is ask."

"Whatever," I said and shut the door behind me. _I don't know what's right anymore. I thought I had a clear cut view of right and wrong, but now…I don't know what's right anymore. The Vanguard's a symbol of the Sylvaranti's Liberation and then there's Richter, a member, calling Ratatosk a Demon Lord. Alice said the Blood Purge was the fault of the Church of Martel. What's right, what's wrong? _I sighed, "I seriously don't know anymore."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: So Alice has turned out to be a Stalker with a Crush it seems. Poor Decus, wait until he finds out. And she's also given Ichigo food for thought. Yeah she was really vague and omitting the fact that the vanguard is a bunch of terrorist extremists, but hey you do what you gotta do when you're trying to recruit someone. And yeah Emil's monsters all evolved. No Ichigo mimicking Emil this chapter surprisingly. Tch, I'm losing my touch. Any who, it's late, I'm tired and I have an exam tomorrow. See you all later. Remember to review!)**


	8. First Step of Mentor and Disciple

**(A/N: *breathes deep* I feel accomplished. And now I can focus my attention onto this next chapter. Please enjoy it everyone).**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I left the academy only to see everyone waiting outside for me. "And luck?" Rukia asked me.

"Luck?" I asked, confused.

"Emil said you went into the academy to ask any of the professors if they knew Lloyd's whereabouts," Marta stated.

_So that's what he told them, nice to know he had my back. _I thought to myself. "Nah," I scratched the back of my head, "Zilch. Although I see that Richter guy is a member of the Vanguard."

"Sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Marta apologized, "But Emil trusted Richter and I couldn't get a chance to tell you without his knowledge because of that."

"It's fine," I said.

"Thanks for considering my feelings Marta," Emil said.

"No problem," she told him.

"So what should we do now?" I asked.

"I talked to some of the local sailors," Rukia said, "Even with my soul reaper authorization they're not budging. Apparently crossing the sea is treacherous and they're not willing to risk it."

"Maybe we should think of making a pact with a strong water monster," Emil suggested, "We could surf to the other side of the ocean."

"Or you could rely on me," We all heard a voice that of which I recognized. We turned to see Renji walking up to us. Strangely enough he was dressed in a pirate get up. He had on a bandana a vest and a stripped white and blue shirt and a pair of leather gloves along with jeans and leather boots.

"Renji?" I questioned.

"You know it," he said.

"Friend of yours?" Marta asked.

"Yeah this is—"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rukia suddenly burst out laughing, "What is with that getup Renji? You look ridiculous!"

"Hey for your information this is high quality, top of the line, pirating clothing," Renji growled.

"Renji what really happened?" I asked.

Renji turned his back and tapped his foot, "I got conned by this guy Aifread. He tricked me into buying off a boathouse and this outfit for 10,000 gald. Thankfully Urahara said he'd cover my debt if I did some work for him back at the store."

Rukia continued to laugh, "Is…is there any reason you need to be wearing that though?"

Renji grumbled, "My Shihakusho's drying out. As I was docking at Thoda dock earlier, since it was apparently safer than the Palmacosta harbor this really big wave splashed over me. I had no choice."

"Well you wanna swing that bad boy over here and take us to Iselia?" I asked.

Renji shook his head, "We're better off going straight from the dock to Iselia, it's too dangerous right now otherwise."

"It's probably the best idea," Rukia said.

"You make it sound like you don't want to stay in Palmacosta," I said.

"Well I don't," she said, "Can we please leave?"

"Um…ok," I said not entirely sure what had crawled up her ass, but since it was Rukia I couldn't really care less.

"Let's get to the outskirts of town. You guys can bring me up to speed on the situation from there. It seems like things are a little more complex than Soul Society intended if a group is starting to gather," Renji stated.

"Agreed," I responded.

* * *

**Thoda Valley**

We were traversing along the mountain range that, my last time here, Raine, Kratos, Genis and Colette went in a caravan to put the squeeze on Dorr, the Governor General of Palmacosta. We got to a spot in the valley that was surrounded by the tallest mountains of the surrounding area. It was starting to get late in the afternoon so we were going to set up camp.

"All right so…anyone care to bring me up to speed?" Renji requested.

"Well to start off I…" Before I could say anything I felt a powerful spiritual pressure suddenly appear from over the range. I turned to block, but I wasn't the target.

CLANG!

Emil blocked a strike meant for Marta and he wasn't it his other persona. I could tell because his eyes were still green. "So you're protecting her?" Richter asked Emil.

"I made a pact, a pact to borrow Ratatosk's power so I would be able to protect Marta. I'm not going to let anyone hurt Marta again!" he declared, "Not even you!"

"You made a pact with Ratatosk? You fool!" Richter jumped back.

"Huh? Why? Was that a bad idea?" Emil asked.

"What's going on?" Renji shouted.

"No time to explain," I said noticing that this valley was now crawling with Vanguard soldiers. "All you have to know is that they're the enemy."

"Aha! How lucky you all walked right into my trap." I heard Alice's voice as she came strolling up from the direction we were headed in, side saddling a large, pink wolf-like creature.

"Alice," Marta called out in alarm.

"Are you here for Ratatosk's core?" I asked Alice.

"Of course we are. All you have to do is hand over Martmart and things won't be a problem," Alice stated.

"So you're the Vanguard are you?" Renji asked taking a lead stance into the group.

"Yes, and you are?" Richter asked him.

From his pocket Renji pulled out his lieutenant's armband, "Squad 6 Lieutenant Renji Abarai. We're on orders to take down the Vanguard if they become a threat. If you intend to fight you become our enemies from here on out."

"We have no intention of fighting," Alice said sweetly, "All we want is the core on Martmart's forehead and we'll be on our way passively. Of course I don't care if I have to break a few arms or step on a few toes to do so."

"Ichigo, some insight," Renji glanced back towards me.

"If the core is taken from Marta's forehead she'll die," I told him.

"I'd be careful if I were you Mr. Officer Lieutenant," Alice said to Renji, "Surely the Soul Society wouldn't have a problem in exchanging one human life to settle a matter peacefully."

"Don't listen to her Renji!" Rukia called out. "The Vanguard wants Ratatosk and the Centurions for their own selfish purposes! What our group is doing is trying to revive Ratatosk to restore nature's balance!"

"Have you been deluded as well?" Richter said angrily, "If you revive Ratatosk the only thing you'll bring about to this world is certain death!"

"No we won't. I don't know why you think Ratatosk is a Demon Lord, but he's the Lord of all Monsters. He's not bad," Marta insisted.

"I told you before. I'm not interested in semantics," Richter said.

"Enough Richter," Alice said, "it seems they aren't willing to listen to reason. We'll give them to the count of five. If you don't hand over Martmart or surrender by then, we'll attack. One…two…three…four…"

"Five! Thunder Blade!" From out of nowhere a large blade of pure lightning, about twice my size, came slamming down into the ground tearing up the landscape. When it cleared a figure stood standing in its place. It was a guy with long red hair, a pink shirt, and white pants. He was carrying a long, diamond ore bladed sword in one hand and a bright, star shaped shield in the other. I recognized him immediately. He turned towards us, "Yo, Ichigo, bud looks like you could use some help."

"Zelos?" I questioned.

"What? Has it been so long you've forgotten the undeniable visage of the Great Chosen Zelos?" he asked.

"Two years and it seems your attitude still hasn't changed," I sighed.

"You! Chosen Zelos! Why are you here?" Richter growled.

"Well I thought I was going to meet up Miss Rukia in Palmacosta, but when I asked around," Zelos took a back glance towards our group, "I found out you guys had already left. What's the matter Miss Rukia are you avoiding me on purpose? I'm hurt."

"And you asked why I didn't want to hang around in Palmacosta for too long," Rukia mulled over.

"Do you intend to fight us?" Richter asked.

"That depends, you wanna go up against me and my pals? Doubt you'd get very far with that battered body of yours. And of course," He glanced towards Alice, "I'm not too fond of hitting a pretty girl."

"Alice, should we pull back?" Richter asked her.

"Of course not. If we pulled back now Commander Brute would think we didn't even try," she pointed her weapon at us, "All forces attack!"

"Yes ma'am," the Vanguard soldiers rushed forward.

Zelos sighed, "Nothing's ever easy in life is it. Oh well." He closed his eyes and his wings sprouted off of his back. He then charged forward and hacked down members of the Vanguard with swift, fast movements. He then put up a barrier around him and chanted. "O shining light cast down your purifying power upon these servants of Nifilheim…"

"Everyone hit the ground!" I shouted.

"Bring forth the light of dawn! Judgment!" Bolts of pure light mana rained down like a heavy downpour onto the Vanguard soldiers, eradicating most of the unit.

"And now we'll retreat," Alice stated, "Aramis!" Alice, Richter and the rest of the Vanguard soldiers escaped on, or in, Alice's flying monster.

"Thanks Zelos, I owe you one," I told him.

"Well, well that's certainly high praise coming from you," he said and then took notice of Marta who was just getting hurt, "Well now my cute little kitten you're not hurt are you?" He twirled her around and threw her back so that her back lay flat against his arm. Zelos was smiling like the philanderer he was. Marta's expression was a plain unenthusiastic stare.

Emil was just getting to his feet now, "Ah-ah Marta," he ran over to her.

"Hmm, and who might you be?" Zelos asked him.

"I'm Emil sir," he responded.

Zelos let Marta get back on her feet and then turned his attention to Rukia and me, "You wanna let me in on what's going on?"

"Double. I'm still out of the loop here," Renji stated.

I sighed, "All right. Here's what's going on…"

* * *

**One Explanation Later…**

"And that's when you showed up Zelos," I ended.

"So to sum up, you're out trying to revive Ratatosk the supposed 'Lord of all Monsters' by gathering the Centurion's cores and restoring balance to the world?" Renji inquired. I nodded.

"However, at the same time," Zelos added, "You're also looking for Lloyd in accordance for what happened at the Blood Purge and then there's what happened at Lake Sinoa. And you're also saying that Lloyd's responsible for Lady Rangiku's injuries?"

"Exactly," Rukia added, "We could really your help Zelos."

"Doesn't Pineapple head get a say in this?" he asked.

"First of all," Renji said ticked off, "The name's Renji, try to learn it. Second, I don't exactly have a choice. I'm on orders with Soul Society to fix the matter with the Centurions."

"Ok, so then what about you Ichigo. From the sound of it you're not exactly tethered to this whole thing. And you'll break Miss Jubilees heart if you keep her waiting," Zelos told me.

"First of all I know I'm keeping her waiting. I don't need _you_ of all people reminding me of that. Second, I want to find Lloyd and find out what the hell his problem is. I mean…you aren't honestly thinking of letting what he did to Rangiku-san slip through the cracks are you?" I asked.

Zelos turned his back, "Look it's not that I don't doubt that what happened to Lady Rangiku was a tragedy, but Lloyd's just not that kind of person."

"It doesn't matter what kind of person he is that bastard killed my parents!" Emil shouted.

"I see," Zelos said and then began to walk away from our group.

"Zelos where are you going?" I asked. "We're not done talking."

"Sorry, but I have better things to do then hang around with people who swear revenge on my 'bastard' friends and I sure as hell don't have time for people who can't trust a friend indefinitely," Zelos said in a rather uppity tone. "Besides, I've got a schedule to keep. I'll see you all later. Or perhaps not."

Once Zelos was out of sight I started laughing like I was insane. "Wh-what's so funny?" Emil asked.

"S-sorry," I said trying to keep it together, "It's just his attitude is just so funny," I said with hinted sarcasm, "Of all people he was the last one I would expect to remain indefinitely loyal to Lloyd."

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"On the journey Zelos pretended to betray us. Lloyd even found it hard to trust him back, so the fact that he's acting like this, shows how much faith he has in him," Rukia couldn't have explained things better.

Emil clenched his fists. "He doesn't believe us at all. Lloyd could commit murder right in front of him and he'd still remain loyal to him!"

"That's a little much," Rukia said.

"What about you Renji?" Marta asked.

"If there's one thing I know about Vice-Captain Matsumoto is that when it comes to giving status reports she definitely has her facts straight. Even if that weren't the case, she's not exactly one to betray a sacred bond like friendship. If she says Lloyd was her attacker then we have to take it at face value until we find out otherwise or get an explanation. In accordance with the laws of Soul Society, assaulting a member of her rank is a serious offense," Renji stated.

"Wait so Lloyd could do jail time for this?" I asked. Rukia nodded, in confirmation. _Way to go Lloyd, I hope you're proud of yourself._

"Anyway now that the Vanguard has dispersed from the area should we set up camp?" Renji asked.

"Sounds like a good idea," I said.

* * *

**That Evening**

**Emil's pov**

I was sitting at the campfire. Marta, Rukia, Tenebrae and Renji were already asleep. Cotton was being used as Rukia's pillow. I was having trouble. Ichigo was keeping watch. I suddenly felt a hand grab my shoulder. I cried out in fright, but it was only Ichigo.

"Hey keep your voice down do you want to wake everyone up?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "You just startled me."

"Wow, Tenebrae was right. You do scare easy," Ichigo said.

"I'm sorry," I hung my head only to have the back of it whacked. "Ow!" I rubbed it.

"Stop apologizing all the time. It makes you look pathetic!" Ichigo scolded.

"I'm so—" I looked at his glaring expression, "I mean, oh."

"You should get some rest, or did you want to keep watch?" Ichigo asked me.

"Um…actually…" I stood up.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ichigo asked me.

"I was wondering, would you train me?" I asked.

"Train you?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head.

"I mean it's ok if you don't want to, but…" Ichigo pat my head. "Huh?"

"Hey if you've still got fuel to burn I don't mind. Let's head away from the campsite for a bit so we don't cause a disturbance," he told me. I nodded in agreement.

"So," I said once we reached the training grounds, "How did you teach Lloyd when you first started training him."

"Well when I started training Lloyd he had already gotten strong enough to handle my Bankai. Right now…you're weaker than he was then, but we've been travelling less so that's understandable," Ichigo told me. He unsheathed his weapon. "Tenebrae said something about Ventus' dormant power lying within you. For now let's just try to bring that out."

FLASH!

"Okay," I said whipping out my sword, "Let's do this."

"All right, here I come!" Ichigo rushed forward both hands on his blade. I blocked with mine. The force of his swing was immense.

"Ravaging Tiger!" I shouted. Ichigo blocked each of my strikes in succession. _Damn it, his reflexes are too good. _I took a huge back-step back. Ichigo came leaping at me from on high. "Phoenix Rush!" I used the arte defensively to slip out from underneath Ichigo so he'd miss. I turned sharply on a dime. "Demon Fang!" Ichigo countered my attack with a weakly powered Getsuga Tensho. Because Ichigo was training me I couldn't use the Demonic Moon Fang. Only as an ally could I use that technique. I had no time to think as Ichigo came swiftly moving in for a horizontal swing. I dodge rolled to the side and fired off another demon fang. He deflected it. "Hey what the hell are you trying to kill me?"

He stuck his sword in the ground, "When I was first trained my mentor didn't hold back. If I couldn't hold up to his standards my punishment was death. He taught me a good battle lesson at that time. And I'm going to give you the same lesson. When you're not in your battle mad persona you're a coward. When you dodge you're afraid of getting injured. When you attack you're afraid of killing someone. When you protect someone you're afraid of letting them die. Nothing can be born of fear Emil," Ichigo pulled his sword back out of the ground and came charging back at me. I blocked, but was flung back upon impact. "We'll keep fighting until you understand that lesson."

_What the hell is he going on about? I'm not a coward when I fight. _I collided against Ichigo's blade and was blown back again. _I don't have a problem. _"Demon Fang!" Ichigo held up his sword and sliced my attack in half, letting the two halves harmlessly sail past him. _The one who has a problem is my counterpart. _I gripped my sword harder and charged energy into it by placing my hand on top of it, "Dual Death!" I sent two powerful shockwaves slicing towards Ichigo. He countered both with a single powerful Getsuga Tensho. I dodged out of the way. _Crap!_ I started breathing hard. _Ok, maybe, he's not the only one with a problem. _

"_When you dodge you're afraid of being injured," _

I watched Ichigo raise his arm and fire off another Getsuga Tensho. I scowled. _No, when I dodge. I won't be injured. _Like lightning I maneuvered around Ichigo's shockwave and ran forward.

"_When you protect someone you're afraid of letting them die," _

_I made this pact so that I could protect Marta. I'm not afraid to let her die. I __**won't **__let her die. _Ichigo sent out a weak powered, fast moving Getsuga. "Ravaging Tiger!" I leapt over it as a defensive maneuver.

"_When you attack…"_

"When I attack," I crouched down low as I rushed forward, "I kill!" I swung upwards and I could feel the backing of Ventus within me as my swing destabilized and knocked Ichigo off balance. "Griffin Rush!" As I turned over as I normally would when activating Phoenix Rush the power of Ventus took hold of me creating an updraft from underneath me allowing me to make another revolution and ascending higher into the air. On the second revolution I knocked Zangetsu clean out of Ichigo's hands and send a dozen wind blades blasting out in random directions. I landed and looked over to Ichigo. He was clutching his chest.

FLASH!

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" I asked.

"Nah, it's good, it's superficial," he moved his hand, "See I'm not even bleeding." He went to go retrieve his Zanpakuto. "You did a good job. Let's call it a night. Tomorrow's a big day."

"You're right," I said. We went back to the campsite. I snuggled down on the ground and went to sleep.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

When I woke up the next morning I felt an odd weight against my body and a…familiar scent. It was the scent of clean wildflowers. I opened my eyes I saw two gloved hands wrapped around me. I tilted my head. _What are you doing Marta? _She was completely invading my personal space. She had to be completely asleep when I came back to camp. At what point did she do this? _Wh-what do I do? _I swallowed and slowly reached down towards her hand. I slowly and carefully moved them off from around me so I could get up and then slowly backed away from Marta who curled up into a ball. As I did I backed up into something…rather someone. I titled my head up it was Ichigo. I whirled around. "Uh…um…th-this isn't what it…"

"Did she cling to you in the middle of the night?" he asked me.

"Um, y-y-yes…" I answered.

Ichigo was surprisingly smiling, "Well I wish you the best of luck." He walked away.

"Best of luck?" I was confused for a moment, but then I realized what he was implying. I ran after him, "Wait! Ichigo no! You've got it all wrong!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Haha. Poor Emil. So yeah, Ichigo has become Emil's mentor, Zelos acts like he's got a bug up his ass, and Renji joins the party while the group makes its way to Iselia and Marta is puttin the moves on her knight. Next time we'll probably see Raine show up. See you guys later.)**


	9. Where It All Began: Iselia

**(A/N: It's amazing what some good old fashioned homework can do for your concentration drive. Anyway, time for a new chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Emil's pov**

We all headed out together and got on Renji's boat and sailed the ocean to Iselia. Marta looked like she was going to be sick.

"Marta, are you ok?" I asked.

"I get motion sickness," she said groggily. "Ugh."

"Go lie down in the cabin then for a bit," Renji told her. "Emil there's some patented Lezareno brand motion sickness medicine in the storage room, think you can get some."

"U-um, okay," I said.

Marta went to lie down and I looked for the medicine in the storage room, "Let's see, motion sickness…motion sickness…" I came across a blue bottle with the Lezareno Company logo on it, "Oh this must be it." I said. "Let's see here, when to use: upset stomach due to large amounts of swaying. This is definitely it. Okay instructions," I turned the bottle over, "Take one capsule with water ever three to seven hours while symptoms persist. Warning side effects may cause over-reactive hormones or sudden fits of rage." I swallowed. _I sure hope Marta doesn't attack me. _I went to the cabin with a cup of water and one of the capsules. Marta was lying down on the bed groaning. "I brought you some medicine."

"Thanks Emil," she smiled. I handed her the cup and the pill and she swallowed it.

"How do you feel?" I asked her. Marta's cheeks flushed.

"I feel really good," she said holding out the last word.

She stood up and looked right into my eyes. I took half a step back and turned my head. "Wh-what?"

"You're so handsome Emil," she told me, "I just love you so much."

"M-Marta…y-you're embarrassing me," I said red faced.

She giggled and walked towards me slowly wrapping her arms around me and breathed into my ear. Her hot breath blew straight into my ear canal. "My fearless prince," there was a low growl in Marta's voice, "Accept the devotion of this humble maiden."

"M-Marta stop!" I backed away out of her grasp and knocked a chair over behind me.

Marta giggled, "Playing hard to get. I can work with that."

I swallowed, _don't tell me that…_ "Um, a little help down here please!" I called out.

The first person to come down the stairs in the cabin room was Rukia. "What's the problem Emil?" she asked. I immediately used her as a human shield.

"I…all I did was give Marta medicine for her motion sickness and then she just started throwing herself at me," I told her.

Rukia sighed, "You know, you remind me more of how Ichigo used to be every second. Go back up on deck. I'll watch over Marta."

"Thank you," I said quickly and headed back up on deck. When I did I saw Tenebrae on his hind legs peering over the edge of the boat. Ichigo had his hand on his back.

"Easy there Tenebrae," Ichigo told him.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It seems that not even Centurions are immune to motion sickness. Unfortunately for Tenebrae here that medicine is meant for human consumption only," Ichigo told me.

"Oh really? Tenebrae are you okay?"

"Ugh," he responded, "I should…be okay soon…but…the ocean…keeps swaying."

"Renji how far out are we?" Ichigo turned his head to the right to call out to him.

"Only about ten minutes out at this rate," he answered, "This boat may have been expensive, but I'd say it's the quality one would expect for that much."

"Hear that, see if you can keep yourself together for ten more minutes ok Tenebrae?" Ichigo told him.

"You're a really nice person you know that Ichigo," I said with a smile.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked me.

"Well, I mean you barely know Marta, Tenebrae and me and you're treating us like we've been friends for a long time," I told him.

Ichigo turned around, "Well it's because I see a lot of what I used to be like in you Emil."

"A lot of you in me?" I questioned.

He nodded, "We may not have the same personality, but there are a few things I notice between us that are the same."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well for starters your Ratatosk persona," he said to me, "You're not the only one with an inner demon."

"But you've never changed the entire time we've been here," I tilted my head.

"Because I can control mine and if I did change it everyone in the surrounding area would be in trouble," he explained. I swallowed. Ichigo pat my head, "You just keep doing what you're doing Emil, I'll back you up."

"Th-thank you," I felt so emotional. "Y-you're like a big brother I never had Ichigo."

He removed his hand and turned his face to the side, grinning. "Hey come on you don't need to go that far."

"Ha ha," I laughed. _I think I embarrassed him. _He turned his attention back to Tenebrae.

"You think maybe you might want to lie down in the cabin," Ichigo asked him.

"I suppose I might," Tenebrae strutted off away from the side of the boat and staggered down the stairs to the cabin.

I was grateful Ichigo said he'd always back me up, but there was something important I had to make sure of. "Ichigo?" I questioned walking up next to him.

"Hmm?"

"If it came down to a life or death match between Lloyd and me, whose side would you take?" I asked. Ichigo closed his eyes and was silent. "I-I'm sorry was that a stupid question?"

Ichigo shook his head slightly, "No, no it wasn't a stupid question…just…complicated," he stated.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"How should I put this," he scratched his chin, "If that happened I'd take the side of whosever in the right."

"But Lloyd—"

"I want to believe that the Lloyd I knew is still alive in that moron's head somewhere. It's just not like Lloyd to suddenly abandon Colette and go off on his own. I seriously want to know what happened to him. I mean…he didn't even tell her goodbye." Ichigo started staring off into space as if recalling a memory.

"Ichigo?"

"Huh? Sorry, you say something?"

"Well um…why do you believe in Lloyd so much?" I asked.

"Because he was a good guy and such an idealist," Ichigo leaned forward off the side of the boat, resting his chin on his folded arms, "Lloyd's not the type of guy to just suddenly start committing crimes and murder people in a world he helped regenerate." He pushed up on his arms and grit his teeth, "Damn it this is so frustrating."

_It sounds like Ichigo really trusts Lloyd even after everything that's happened. I wonder...if Lloyd really is such a bad person._

* * *

**Iselia**

**Ichigo's pov**

We docked ashore on the northern coastline of the Village of Oracles. Marta was back to normal and Tenebrae seemed to be back to his usual self. The next step was to wonder what to do next.

"Well I need to stop by the mayor's place to get a permit to keep the boat here," Renji said.

"We'll come with you," I stated, "We can ask him about Lloyd while we're there," I chuckled. "I bet after two years he still hasn't let go of what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if he straight out gave us whatever information we need if he has any."

"What happened two years ago?" Emil asked.

"Let's just say Lloyd and I did something that I'm not entirely proud of," I said.

"Huh? You were involved?" Emil questioned.

Renji put a hand on my shoulder, "Yeah this idiot here was like brothers in arms when it came to Lloyd. Both of them were so hotheaded their energy could've been used to light an entire city." I just grumbled.

"Well then shall we go?" Tenebrae asked and concealed himself. We nodded and headed off into town. Upon entry we saw a couple of kids playing together.

"I am Forcystus, evil Desian Grand Cardinal," one of the children shouted.

"I am Ichigo Kurosaki. With my powerful sword I shall smite thee," one of the kids was holding a really big stick and pretending to be me.

"I am Lloyd Irving, Evil Desian prepare to be vanquished by our combined power!" another kid declared. He was holding a pair of wooden swords.

"Rawr!" the kid pretending to be Forcystus shouted, "You'll never be able to defeat me!" they all ran our way. The kid pretending to be me stopped short.

"Guys! Look! Look!" he pointed straight at me, "It's him! It's Ichigo!"

"Ah no way!"

"Oh wow it's really him!" they all ran forward to me.

"You're like a celebrity," Rukia teased.

"Shut up," I growled.

"Hey Ichigo who are these people?" the kid imitating Lloyd asked, "How come Lloyd or that lady your always hanging around with aren't with you?"

"It's kind of a long story," I said.

"How could someone possibly care about Lloyd?" I heard Emil brood.

"Hey!" the kid imitating Lloyd got angry, "You can't talk about the great Lloyd like that?" he looked at me, "Ichigo how can you be friends with a guy who disrespects my master?"

"Your master?" I scratched my head.

"Yeah, I'm Lloyd's number one apprentice Paul the Magnificent!" the kid declared.

"Can I be your apprentice Ichigo?" the kid imitating me asked.

"My apprentice?" I scratched my head, "Ummmm," I looked at Emil, "I'm already training someone and I can only take one student at a time, but if you want," I looked back at the kid, "If you eat right and aspire to be like me you can go for it."

"All right, so can I be your next apprentice then?" he asked.

"Uh maybe in a few years," I said, not too sure if I should've even answered like that.

"I'll train hard or my name isn't Joey the Mighty!" he declared.

"Well good luck to you," I said.

"Bye Ichigo!" They all said and ran off.

"Quite the fan club," Marta laughed.

I sighed. "Personally I could do without it. I'm no hero."

"Yes you are," Emil said enthusiastically, "I mean…they wouldn't…you saved the world didn't you?"

I laughed, "Thanks Emil, but really…it's okay."

Renji put a hand on Emil's shoulder, "He just doesn't like standing in the spotlight. If he had the choice he probably would've given Lloyd full credit for regenerating the world."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emil said.

"You don't need to apologize for it," I said. "Anyway let's go see the mayor."

* * *

**Mayor's House**

When we stepped inside the first thing the guy did was recognize me. "Oh, Ichigo, thank Martel you showed up."

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Every day in and out all I get are complaints about Lloyd with regards to the Blood Purge in Palmacosta."

"You want me to investigate don't you?" I asked. I smirked, "Well you're a little slow on the uptake that's the whole reason we're here."

"Yes, yes I see," the mayor sighed. "I tell you it doesn't make any sense. Lloyd would never lead the Church of Martel against Palmacosta."

For some reason that was enough to set Emil off, "Lloyd killed my parents!" he shouted going straight into his Ratatosk possessed persona.

The mayor sighed, "I'm suddenly reminded of that massacre two years ago that you and Lloyd inadvertently caused Ichigo."

"See things in Palmacosta _are_ just like Lloyd. He's nothing but a worthless murderer!"

"The village was attacked?" Marta questioned.

"Yes by the Desians," the mayor stated.

She tilted her head in confusion. "But I thought Iselia had a non-aggression treaty with the Desians."

"Lloyd tried to save a friend of his who was being held prisoner at the human ranch. Ichigo also attacked the ranch with his Getsuga Tensho. It provoked the Desians into attacking," the mayor looked straight at me, "Honestly do you realize how many people died because of what you did?"

"Hey is this how you talk to someone you were just asking for a favor five seconds ago?" I asked back.

"The past is the past," The mayor sighed only to add, "But even so really did you honestly have to attack them?"

"Hey I _did _try to make it look like an accident," I said.

"Ichigo stop trying to justify your actions," Rukia told me. I just sighed.

"Regardless both of you should've known, actually even a _child_ should know, that the life of one insignificant person in the ranch is nothing compared to the lives of everyone in the village," the mayor said.

"That's how Soul Society functions at the very least," Rukia commented.

"No!" Marta cried out, "That's wrong!"

"Then which would you choose?" the mayor asked her, "Save one person with a thousand lives or save a thousand with one life."

Marta couldn't answer. Emil was able to though, "Isn't it obvious? The one person must be sacrificed for—" he paused and his voice returned to normal, "Wait! That's not right! What if you were that one person? Would you still feel that way?" He hung his head, "And what if there was some way you could save all thousand and one people?"

My brow furrowed, _since when did Emil's two personas have difference in opinion of ethics like that?_

"Hmm, that's exactly what you and Lloyd thought isn't it Ichigo?" the mayor asked me.

"Yeah, but it didn't work out as we intended," I stated plainly.

"Of course it didn't! Because there's a difference between ideal and reality," the mayor griped. "Lloyd himself however is a fool. He believes all lives are equal. He imagines an ideal world where those who want to live can live. However, he's also a man who works tirelessly to realize his ideals. Of course, whether that's good or bad is a different story."

"Mayor, you believe in Lloyd don't you?" Rukia asked.

"Well I don't like him much, but yes," the Mayor stated.

Without switching back to his Ratatosk persona Emil said angrily, "Why does everyone stand up for him? I know for a fact that he killed my mother."

"Ask the people in town. Or better yet Lloyd's father is at the Martel temple. Perhaps he can shed some light on the situation," the mayor stated.

_It's probably Dirk then. It's not common knowledge that Kratos and Lloyd are father and son. _I rationalized.

"Thanks," Renji said, "By the way, before we go how much does it cost to keep a boat parked on the coastline here outside business details?"

"Normally I'd say it's eight hundred gald per week however…"

"However?" Renji asked.

"Professor Sage has stated that she would pay any dividends for Ichigo, any of his black garbed comrades or their allies for the first three weeks, so you're covered for a while," the mayor said.

"Thanks," Renji stated.

"Is Raine here?" I asked.

"It's afterschool so she's probably off doing fieldwork. When I see her I'll send her your way," the mayor told us.

"Thanks," I said.

"It's no problem at all," the mayor told us and we exited.

"So now what, the Martel Temple?" Renji asked.

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

* * *

**Emil's pov**

We made our way to the Martel temple. It was a long hike and I got the feeling during it that Marta was deliberately walking close to me. When we finally arrived there was a strange creature standing in front of the stairs. It was white with green spots and looked sort of like a canine. It was as big as the Black Wolf I had a pact with.

"Hey Noishe," Ichigo said walking over to it and scratching it behind the ear. The creature tapped its foot and wagged its tail rapidly as Ichigo pet it. "Long time no see pal, how have you been?"

"Waohn!" Noishe responded joyously as Ichigo continued to pet it.

It was my first time seeing Ichigo so…defenseless. "I'm confused." I tilted my head.

"That's Lloyd's pet," Rukia said, "His name is Noishe. He and Ichigo have a rather strong bond with each other."

"Really?" Marta inquired. "Ichigo never struck me as the animal liker."

"Well I don't exactly know the details, but before the Journey of Regeneration started Ichigo was staying with Lloyd at his house and supposedly he got along with Noishe really well," Rukia explained to me.

"By the way, I've been wondering this for a while," Renji said, "Just what _is_ Noishe anyway? He's too big to be a dog and he's too tame to be a wolf."

"Aren't you so lucky you have a walking monster encyclopedia," Tenebrae materialized, "Namely: me."

"Oh? So is Noishe a type of monster then?" I asked.

"The answer to that question is difficult. He has all of the physical characteristics of an Orion, a high level light elemental-affiliated canine monster, but it seems either he's tamed out or might perhaps be a different life form all together," Tenebrae stated.

"Different life form?" I questioned.

"I apologize, but that's about all I can be certain of. I do have a theory, but it's rather improbable. It wouldn't make sense for me to explain it without someone able to confirm it and I doubt there'd be anyone other than an elf old enough to do so," Tenebrae stated.

I looked over to Ichigo who was bent down on one knee vigorously rubbing Noishe's stomach while Noishe panted. "Okay Ichigo I think you've had enough of a bonding moment, we've got a mission you know," Rukia told him.

Ichigo stood up and Noishe got up onto his legs and shook out his whole body. "Yeah I know," Ichigo stated, almost grumbling. He pat Noishe's head one more time and told him, "Don't worry boy, we'll find out what's wrong with Lloyd."

Noishe whined and then barked and then walked over to the side by the welcome sign to the temple and sat down. "It looks like he's letting us past." I stated.

"Of course. Noishe knows we're not here to cause trouble, right boy?" Ichigo asked.

"WAOOOOOOOHN!" Noishe howled.

"Ichigo is the reason your so attached to Noishe because your dad won't let you own a dog?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo turned red faced, "Sh-shut up! You shut your mouth!"

Rukia laughed and walked up the stairs. "Okay, sorry to pry." Ichigo growled and followed suit. We headed upstairs towards the temple. I wondered what kind of person Lloyd's father might be like. I already had a pretty good inclination that he had spiky hair and a face just like an older version of Lloyd, and maybe a pompous attitude to go with it. Like father like son after all.

Oddly enough when we headed up the stairs and into the temple the only person inside was a short man with lots of facial hair. Ichigo recognized him oddly enough, "Dirk, just the man we were looking to see."

"Ichigo how are you?" he spoke with a funny accent too, "What's it been boy? Two years?"

"Just about I think," Ichigo responded.

"Who's this Ichigo?" I asked.

"Emil, Marta, this is Lloyd's father, Dirk," Ichigo introduced us.

_His…father? Huh?_

"You guys seemed a little confused, but I guess that's understandable," Ichigo stated.

Dirk nodded. "Indeed, Lloyd and I may not be related by blood, but he's my son. Found him and raised him since he was just a wee boy. Anyway what's the lot of ya doing here anyway?"

"We're looking for Lloyd," Ichigo said, "We were wondering if you'd heard anything from him."

"Aren't you the least bit angry at him?" I said, "For what he did in Palmacosta."

Dirk raised his voice in defense for his son, "If Lloyd had anything to do with what happened in Palmacosta, he wouldn't have just disappeared like that. I didn't raise a man who runs from his own responsibilities. My boy may be a fool, but he's not a bad person."

"Have you had any contact with him at all?" Renji asked.

"Last I heard of him was about six months ago. He came home from his journey to collect Exspheres, said he'd been tasked with a heavy responsibility by someone and he needed to travel light. Haven't seen him since," Dirk stated.

"The time frame certainly fits in with Colette's story," Rukia stated.

"I still don't understand, what would make Lloyd just up and leave her like that. Who could have possibly asked him to do something that he'd take it into consideration without a second thought, and without Colette too?" Renji questioned.

Ichigo chewed on the cuticle of his thumb a bit before saying, "There's only one person I know Lloyd would undeniably help out if asked to. If we're going to get to the heart of this matter we'll have to track him down."

"Him?" Renji asked and then suddenly caught onto whatever Ichigo was implying, "Wait you think _he's_ involved in all this?"

"It would make sense. After all he was at the heart of the _last_ mess we had to clean up," Ichigo said.

"Quit being so cryptic who are you talking about?" Marta asked.

"Kratos Aurion, Lloyd's biological father," Ichigo stated.

"Lloyd's…real father?" my voice quivered.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah so Kratos is getting in on the plot line, after all he's still around. Mithos and Pronyma went off into space. I didn't get to Raine this chapter, oh well. Hopefully Marta throwing herself at Emil makes up for it. See you all later).**


	10. Companionship, the Everlasting Bond

**(A/N: Um so yeah…I got on a REALLY good hot streak for this series. Hope you enjoy. NOTE: I'm surprised I managed to finish two chapters in 1 day)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Emil's pov**

"Lloyd's," I swallowed, "Real father?"

"Wait so Lloyd has two dads?" Marta asked. "If he does why does Dirk take care of him?"

"Kratos isn't exactly…how should I put this…" Ichigo pondered and then added, "A decent parent."

"Yeah that guy's more trouble than he's worth," Renji stated.

"That's ironic coming from you when your captain has just as big of a stick up his ass as Kratos," Ichigo joked.

"Quiet you!" Renji shouted.

"Dirk, do you have any idea where Kratos might be?" Rukia asked.

Dirk shook his head, "Nope, haven't seen him since you all went off when I forged the Eternal Ring."

"Looks like we're on our own then," Ichigo said.

"Thanks for your help Dirk," Renji said.

"Mmm," he nodded, "By the way, Ichigo."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"If you see Lloyd tell him Noishe misses him and that he should come home soon," Dirk told Ichigo.

"Will do," Ichigo said and we all exited the temple.

I sighed as we reached the staircase. "What's wrong Emil?" Marta asked me.

"Dirk's not related to Lloyd by blood, but he really seems to care about him. On the other hand, my uncle was always ashamed of everything I did," I said. "And while I can't possibly understand what sort of matter Kratos would need Lloyd for that involved killing people, if he cares enough about him to ask for his help he can't be all bad."

"Emil…" Marta seemed concerned for me.

"Oh, Ichigo you're still here," I heard a calm professional, womanly voice call out. I turned around to see a woman in an orange jacket with light, aquamarine hair.

"Oh, Raine," Ichigo said.

"Professor Sage, how have you been?" Rukia asked her.

"I'm fine, and I'm glad I ran into you all. I have a slight problem and I was hoping you could help," Raine stated.

"What's the problem?" Ichigo asked her.

"Three of the village children, Paul, Joe and Mike have all gone missing. I was wondering if you could help me find them," Raine stated.

"Sure no problem," Everyone else started to head off with Raine. I stood my ground. "Emil aren't you coming?"

"Why would I?" I scoffed, "They've got the great Paul the magnificent with them. They'll be fine."

"What the hell is your problem all of a sudden?" Ichigo growled.

Marta walked up to me, "I understand your grudge against Lloyd, but Paul has nothing to do with that."

"Humph," I turned my head.

"The Emil I like wouldn't like like that. My Emil is better than that," Marta whined.

I had had just about enough of all this, "I don't even remember you!" I shouted at her. "Stop trying to make me into something I'm not! I don't need you telling me who I'm supposed to be!"

Marta gasped and then looked down at the ground saddened, "I-I'm sorry."

I stood there with an angered expression, "Well if you don't want to come along Emil that's your business," Ichigo told me. "If you want you can wait at Raine's house."

"It's the third house after the Mayor's. You'll recognize it by the pool of water surrounded by cobblestones out front," Raine said.

"Sure, fine, whatever," I said and I stomped off. I made it back to the village on my own. When I did I saw a lot of people talking.

"This is all my fault," a woman was saying, "If I had just kept an eye on Paul…"

"Lilia it's going to be all right," a man told her, "Professor Sage went to look for Paul and the others. They'll be fine."

"But Professor Sage is a half-elf. I don't know if this is such a good idea," another woman said.

_Raine's a half-elf?_

"Stop that nonsense this instant!" I watched as a woman walked onto the scene. She was wearing the same black kimono Ichigo and Rukia wore. From the angle I was standing at I saw that her left eye was closed and had a scar running down it. I couldn't see her right eye. She had strawberry blonde hair and…she was really beautiful. "Professor Raine Sage saved the World! She's a good half-elf. She's nothing like the Desians. She'll save Paul and those other children."

"She's right," the woman, Lilia, said, "and she would know after all. Raine's been tending to her injuries from the Blood Purge."

"Yeah…well…fine," the prejudice woman walked off. The villagers later dispersed.

_I wonder who that woman is. _I approached her as she was heading back to wherever she came from. "Um, excuse me," I called out.

"Yes," she turned around. I could now see her from the front. She had a necklace dangling down over her chest and her right eye, which was open, was blue. She had a badge hanging around her sash that had a plus on it.

"Uh…um…your outfit…" I said.

"What about it?" she asked.

"Um…uh…do you know Ichigo per chance?" I asked.

"Hmm, yeah I know him. How do you?" she asked with a friendly attitude.

"Um, well…

* * *

**One Explanation Later…**

"I see, so what's your name kid?" she asked me.

"I…I'm Emil ma'am," I bowed my head.

She laughed, "Oh my you don't need to be so formal."

"H-huh?"

She stuck out her hand, "Pleasure to meet you Emil, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto the tenth Squad Lieutenant of the Gotei Thirteen, but you can just call me Rangiku."

"P-pleasure to meet you too," I said.

"So let me see if I've got this straight. You didn't want to help out because you loathe Lloyd for killing your parents during the blood purge so Raine told you to wait here right?" Rangiku asked me.

"That about sums it up," I looked down, "I can't understand how anyone would revere Lloyd so highly."

Rangiku walked past me and said professionally, "Walk with me."

"Um…okay." I followed Rangiku to the schoolhouse and she beckoned me inside. Inside the classroom there were dozens of pictures of Lloyd strung all about the walls. There were several of Ichigo too, but those were of lesser in number. "I don't get it…I just don't get it."

"Emil I know you feel that Lloyd ruined your life, but you have to understand there are people out there who were saved by Lloyd and owe him their lives. There are people who see him as a hero…and a friend," Rangiku seemed to trail off at the last moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Rangiku pointed to her scarred eye, "Do you want to know how I got this scar Emil?" she asked me.

"How?"

"I was there on the night of the Blood Purge. I fought Lloyd," she told me.

"You…what?"

* * *

**Iselia Forest**

**Marta's pov**

We were ambushed by a bunch of monsters, but we were able to drive them off together. I felt a little sad when my adrenaline level lowered down to normal. Normally this was when I'd praise Emil for his courage, but not only was he not here he probably didn't want to look at me again.

"Hey, Marta, you okay?" It was Ichigo calling to me.

I shook my head. "I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Okay, well pick up your pace then. You're falling behind."

"Okay," I said solemnly.

* * *

**Rangiku's pov**

"What? Didn't you hear me? I said I fought Lloyd," I told Emil.

"I heard you…it's just…hard to believe," he told me. "What happened?"

I turned my head to the side. "I-I don't rightly know. I was investigating the Vanguard when I was attacked from behind and my attacker turned out to be Lloyd. He treated me like I was his enemy. I was hurt pretty severely," I pointed to my eye again and looked straight at Emil, "This scar is proof of that. Captain Unohana was having difficulty healing it since I wouldn't sit still or let her perform surgery to restore my vision and I didn't want to trust Captain Kurotsuchi to replace my eye or give me a fake one so she suggested that Raine take a look at it. She's been doing a pretty good job. Before she started working on it this scar was twice the size it is now. It won't be long before I can see out of it again."

"Wait! Lloyd did that to you? Why? Aren't you his friend?" Emil asked, panicked.

"That's what I thought too," I said, "but…I want to believe…I want to believe that the Lloyd I really know is still out there. I want to know why he attacked me!"

I suddenly felt a quick pulse of spiritual pressure and watched as Emil's eyes turned blood red. His demeanor and voice changed on top of it, "And what would be the point of learning why he did it? He's obviously declared you as his enemy. You should just go searching for him and hunt him down."

"I want to go searching for him of course," I said, "but attacking him is entirely another. I don't want to think that Lloyd actually meant to hurt me."

"Rukia told me you were in a pretty bad condition when she found you. I don't think that qualifies not wanting to hurt. You should be thankful you have your life," Emil stated.

_What's up with this kid? _I wondered. _First he acts all timid now he's acting like he's mister big shot._

"While the others all off looking for some random kids why don't we go off in search for Lloyd and get our answers?" Emil asked me.

"Nothing good will come from vengeance Emil!" I told him.

"And how would you know?" he grumbled.

"I know a lot more than you would think," I said crossly.

"Enlighten me," Emil lifted his head back a bit.

"Sometimes people who wrong you, people who are your friends, have ulterior motives for what they attempt. In the Gotei, I know that better than anyone. That's why…that's why I want to out and find Lloyd and find out why he's acting like this," I told Emil.

"Pfft, I don't get it," he scoffed. He then said angrily, "How can you remain so indefinitely loyal to someone who attacked you? You're worse than that bastard Zelos!"

SLAP!

Say what you will about Lloyd, but _no one_ insults Zelos in front of me and gets away with it. "Don't act like you know him. Don't act like you know either of them!" Emil scowled and put a hand where I struck him. I then added calmly, "Look Emil, I understand you're angry with Lloyd for what happened to your parents, but you can't let that drive you. I know Lloyd well enough to know that he wouldn't just go sailing off the deep end like this. It doesn't change what he did, but I want to know why before I render my judgment on him. Wouldn't you want to know what the deal was if someone you respected wronged you?" I asked him.

There was another brief pulse of Mana and Emil's eyes shifted back to green. His voice became normal, "Y-you're right," he nodded, "Thanks Rangiku."

"No problem," I said and smiled, "So then you wanna track down Ichigo and the others and see if they left us a piece of the action."

"Um, sure...I guess," Emil said unsure.

"Great," I pulled his arm and we headed off on our own direction.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

After we spent a lot of time walking around we finally came to what was left of the Iselia Human Ranch, or rather where it should be. A thick fog blocked off the entire area.

"Wow that's some thick fog," Renji stated.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," I exasperated.

"What do we do?" Rukia asked, "We can't proceed like this."

Tenebrae materialized, "Perhaps one of our monsters can be of assistance."

"Wh-what is that?" Raine gasped.

_Oh no._

"I am a Centurion, Centurion Tenebrae," Tenebrae told her.

"Oh you're that Tenebie person Colette spoke of," Raine said.

"It's _Tenebrae,_" Tenebrae got irked.

_Is she holding her Ruin mode inside her or is the fact that she's not weirded out by Tenebrae in the slightest part of it? _I wondered.

"Hmm, you don't seem like a Summon Spirit, your mana composition seems to be closer to that of a monster," She said to him.

"No doubt because I employ monsters as my servants," Tenebrae bragged.

"Very interesting indeed," Raine seemed really into Tenebrae, "I'd love to learn more about it. You and I simply must talk later one on one."

"It would be my pleasure," Tenebrae said proudly.

"All right enough with the small talk," I said, "Tenebrae you said one of our monsters could be of use in seeing through all this thick fog?"

"Indeed, perhaps our Black Wolf friend would be able to…to…" Tenebrae suddenly flashed a green color. "Oh my."

"What is it?" I asked.

"It appears Emil has made a pact with another monster," Tenebrae stated.

"Really? Is he on his way here?" Marta asked.

"If you're talking about Emil he's just gathering himself together," I knew that voice.

"Rangiku," Raine said in a scolding tone as she came walking up the path, "I thought I told you to stay lying down with an icepack. Do you want your eye to get better or not?"

"But it's so boring just laying down," she pouted.

"Wait what happened to your eye?" I asked.

"R…Rangiku…" I heard Emil's voice as he came panting up the road, "Why…why did you leave me behind I…I thought I was going to be monster food."

"You're fine Emil if you were able to make it here," Rangiku-san told him. Suddenly a large, bird, about the size of Cotton flew forward and landed on Emil's shoulder.

"Oh, is that the monster you formed a pact with?" I asked.

Emil nodded. "How perfect," Tenebrae said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"That monster is a third level bird monster of wind elemental affiliation called a Raven. I'm surprised you were able to forge a pact with one without any extra mana from any of your monster servants Emil," Tenebrae told him. "It seems that your awakening is coming right along."

"Awakening?" Rangiku-san questioned.

"Awakening as a Knight of Ratatosk, to protect Lady Marta," Tenebrae said.

"Tenebrae, enough of this Emil protecting me stuff, okay?" Marta asked him.

_Huh? I knew Marta had backed down from going gaga over Emil, but I didn't realize her fascination had been reduced __**this**__ much._

"But being a Knight of Ratatosk means—"

Marta cut Tenebrae off, "He has to protect Ratatosk's core on my forehead. We'll all do it together, right, Emil?"

"R-right," he nodded.

"So anyway Tenebrae what's the good thing about Emil having recruited a Raven?" Renji asked.

"Well for one because a Raven is a wind type monster Emil can awaken to new powers as a Knight of Ratatosk, on top of that Ravens and Black Wolves are known for their abilities to see rather well when visibility is sharply reduced, but Raven's and higher classes of bird species are able to use a special technique known as Fog Blaster to eliminate thick fog such as this. All you need to do is give the command," Tenebrae told Emil.

"Go ahead Emil, tell Zephyr what to do!" Rangiku declared.

"Zephyr? Ichigo did she just…"

"Yes," I said to Renji, "Just like Rukia and that rabbit."

"Cotton!" Rukia said like she was five-years-old.

"Whatever!" I exasperated.

"Um…ok," Emil pointed at the fog, "Zephyr use your fog blaster technique!"

_Yeah…this definitely feels like that old hand-held game. _Zephyr dislodged from Emil's shoulder and flew up above our heads and beat his wings. He did it a few more times rather energetically and then beat them really hard once and sent out a gale force of energy which blew away the fog in front of us. "Nice work monster tamer," I complimented Emil.

Emil laughed nervously. "Right then," Raine said, "Let us continue our search for Paul and the others."

* * *

**Emil's pov**

Zephyr came back and landed on my shoulder, "Tenebrae can you put Zephyr in a seal sphere?" I asked.

"Of course," Tenebrae said.

I looked at Zephyr, "You behave yourself okay?"

Zephyr squawked and Tenebrae put him in a seal sphere. As everyone proceeded on ahead I saw Marta. "Umm."

"Thanks for coming back Emil," Marta said.

"You're welcome," I told her. She smiled and walked off. I walked up to Ichigo. "Um, Ichigo."

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know why, but…I was just wondering, is Marta okay?" I asked.

"Huh? Why are you concerned about her all of a sudden? you 'don't even remember her'."

"W-well that's true but…" I couldn't get out everything I wanted to say and just looked off to the side.

"What's the matter? Is it that despite all of the times you turned as red as an apple when she made her advances you actually liked when she did that?" Ichigo asked with a sly smirk.

"What? NO! It's not like that! It's really not…I just…ahhhh," I whined.

Ichigo chuckled and then asked, "Well what do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know…say something that'll brighten her mood maybe. You know…like you did back in Asgard a few times."

"Oh so you _do _like it when she's all over you," Ichigo smirked.

"What? Uhn, forget it I don't know why I even bothered asking," I stormed off towards the front of the group.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

We still hadn't found Paul, Joe or Mike and we were already knee deep in the ruins of the ranch. "No sign of them."

"And they're just normal kids, so tracking them via reiatsu is impossible," Rukia lamented.

"Any ideas Tenebrae," I asked.

"I'm thinking," he said. After a brief pause stated, "Hmm, perhaps if we had some form of scent to go on Emil's Black Wolf could track them down in an instant."

"Hmm, I might just have something in mind," Raine said. She ran over to where a fallen tree was and plucked off a piece of bark. "This is pinewood. Paul's swords are made from this exact same wood. If we can find the swords…"

"We find Paul and the others," I smirked.

"That's our Professor," Rukia praised.

"But there are other pine trees around here right, what if the Black Wolf just hones in on one of those?" Emil asked.

"How insulting that you think one of my night time creatures would be unable to seek out exactly what we are looking for. I'm rather offended Emil," Tenebrae huffed.

"O-oh really, I'm sorry. I was just concerned with wasting everyone's time is all," he said.

"Since when were you concerned about those kids?" I asked.

"Huh? Um…I mean…"

Rangiku-san laughed lightly, "Emil seems to understand how to differentiate between enemy and innocent bystander."

Marta had this angered look on her face. I could only guess what was going through her mind at the moment. She got jealous very easily. "Well I guess it's worth a try then," Emil said, "Tenebrae call out the Black Wolf."

"As you command," Tenebrae summoned the Black Wolf's seal sphere and did a back flip to release it.

"Wow," Rangiku was amazed, "It's so cool looking," she said.

"I wouldn't necessarily clarify that as cool," I said. _Honestly, it'd be more impressive if it was a little more menacing. That thing wasn't that much bigger than Noishe._

"Here," Raine extended her palm out to the Black Wolf as she held the pinewood in it. The Black Wolf sniffed it and then began frantically running about the ruins.

"It looks like it's working," Emil said.

"Growl! Growl!"

"Sounds like he found something," I said. We all rushed over to the Black Wolf to see what it found.

"A hatch to lead underground," I noticed, "And there's footprints leading inside."

"Nice job Terremoto," Rangiku pat the wolf on the head.

"Terremoto?" Renji questioned.

_Is she going to name EVERY monster we use? _I questioned.

"How far down do you think it goes?" I questioned.

"Well we can only climb down and see," Marta said.

* * *

**Inside the Ranch Ruins**

I immediately recognized the room we were in. "This is…"

"Man this place looks halfway blown to scrap," Marta said, "What happened here?"

"I bet Lloyd did this," Emil balled his fists.

I put hand on each of their shoulders and beamed. "Actually this would be my handiwork."

"Yours? No way! It looks like the tree that attacked Palmacosta ran through here twelve times over!" Marta exclaimed.

"Yeah well you'd be surprised about the amount of damage I can do," I said. _This has to be a combination of the damage I did when I fought Kenpachi and when I fought my inner hollow back then. Man that sure brings back some fond memories._

"Which way Terremoto?" Rangiku asked him.

He galloped towards the hallway at the other end of the room and turned right but then reared back and started growling. We ran up to him. Terremoto was locked in a monster battle between it and this yellow thing standing on four legs. It had a cat's face, a scorpion tail, demonic horns and bat-like wings. "Tenebrae?" I inquired as to the monster's species.

"This type of monster before us is known as a Chimera," Tenebrae said.

"No way, I thought Chimera's were these big huge three headed beasts," I said envisioning one.

"Perhaps where Soul Reapers come from, but here, that is most certainly a Chimera," Tenebrae said.

"It seems like Terremoto wants to fight it," Emil said.

"It should be no problem for him," Tenebrae said, "A black wolf is a second level class monster. A chimera is a level one class."

"Why aren't they attacking yet?" Rukia asked.

"Monsters take a few moments to size each other up," Tenebrae stated. "Now watch."

Terremoto and the Chimera stared each other down for a few more moments when Terremoto suddenly pounced on the small yellow thing. The Chimera flew up to dodge and opened its mouth, revealing a set of four fangs and shot a fire ball at Terremoto. He spun and deflected the fire ball at the Chimera. It dodged and then came slamming down towards Terremoto who leapt up into the air and brought his claw down onto the Chimera's small head, sending it slamming into the floor. He landed with his front paw on the thing's neck, growling. The chimera suddenly disappeared into thin air and suddenly reappeared. A magic circle appeared beneath it and Emil.

"It appears Terremoto has succeeded in subduing the little fellow and now you have the option of forming a pact with it Emil," Tenebrae told him.

"A pact?"

_Oh crap, _I realized, _We haven't told Raine about this._ "Um, once we get out of here and find the kids I'll explain everything to you," I told her.

"Please do!" she declared.

_And there's her Ruin Mode, _I sighed. Emil formed a pact with the Chimera successfully, using Terremoto to increase his level of Mana to do so.

"Good a successful pact. The Chimera is now under our control," Tenebrae stated.

Terremoto looked at Emil and gave him a face that looked like he was looking for some form of physical approval. Emil smiled and bent down and pat the wolf's head, "You did a good job boy, I'm proud of you," he told him.

"Rawr!" Terremoto barked.

"Is it just me or does it seem like Emil's monsters trust him like they're his pets?" Renji asked.

"No I see it too," I said, "Though considering Emil's borrowing the power of a deity that is the 'Lord of All Monsters' that doesn't surprise me. Although I'd rather have some really cool fierce creatures at our backs as opposed to a petting zoo."

"Really? I like having monsters you can communicate with like they're pets," Emil stated.

"Me too," Rukia said.

"No one asked you," I told her. She gave me a raspberry. Terremoto suddenly ran off down the hall. "He must've picked up the scent again. Let's go everyone," I said. We raced after Terremoto until we came face to face with a creature that looked like a giant wood spirit, but on its face…

"Is that a hollow mask?" Rukia asked.

"So these things are still running around are they?" I asked.

"You think maybe this is one of the Vanguard's escapees?" Rukia asked.

"No, I actually had an encounter with this exact creature once before," Rangiku-san said, "See that," she pointed to a circle shaped dent in the hollow's left arm.

"What about it?" I asked.

"I did that with Kido. I would've continued fighting this thing, but it ran away and I lost track of it," Rangiku-san said.

"Was this before or after the incident with Lloyd?" Raine asked.

"Before," Rangiku-san said seriously, "Be careful it's a lot faster than you might think."

I took notice of that immediately when it charged forward and knocked out Terremoto with one punch before the poor thing could blink. "Terremoto!"

"He'll be fine," Tenebrae said, "I shall let him rest, concentrate on the battle."

"Right," I said. "Raine, Emil, Marta, stand back. Time for us to show you what a Soul Reaper's job is all about."

Rukia suddenly noticed something, "Ichigo look!" she pointed to the far end of the corridor we were standing in. Paul, Mike and Joe were all unconscious against it.

The hollow roared, "I won't let you take my food!" It charged towards Renji.

He dodged and shouted, "Roar! Zabimaru!" He cut the creature along it's back, but he barely managed to create a few splinters.

"No way," I stated, "It's pretty tough."

"Its bark is a lot worse than its bite," Rangiku-san stated as the hollow turned around and came charging at me. "That wood acts like armor that lessens the effects of Soul Reaper powers by dispersing the reiryoku that comes in contact with it."

"Damn, so how do we beat it?" I asked. "This area's too cramped for me to use Getsuga Tensho or for Renji to use Bankai," I stated jumping off a wall to avoid getting punched.

"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light divide this into six," I tried to see who was casting, but from the looks of it Rukia, Renji, nor Rangiku was casting.

_So then who…_

"Bakudo 61! Rikujoko!" I watched as the Kido came firing off from…Raine's staff?

_Oh yeah, that's right, she used Kido in our final battle against Mithos, _I smirked. The Bakudo paralyzed the wood creature and I ran towards it to make the final cut, but Rukia leapt over my head and sliced it down the middle.

"Got it!" she cried out. Suddenly though the hollow regenerated. "What but I got the mask?" The hollow punched Rukia in the gut. "Ungh!"

"Rukia!" I shouted in alarm to her.

"No good, this is like what happened when I faced it," Rangiku-san stated.

"So then how do we kill it?" I asked.

"It appears to be vulnerable to Kido," Raine stated.

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"Using Bakudo 61 was more than just to paralyze the monster, Rangiku said earlier that she damaged it with her own Kido, but the wound hasn't regenerated. And when Rukia sliced it in half just now and when Renji attacked it earlier, the wound closed up. Perhaps in exchange for thick armor it cannot regenerate from Kido based attacks," Raine proposed.

"That's our Raine," Rangiku-san chimed.

"That's great and all, but what do we do?" I asked. "As far as I know you only specialize in defensive Kido and Rangiku couldn't defeat it even with hers."

Raine laughed, "You forget I am always learning new things and just last year I figured out a regular spell that I found to be extremely effective against all forms of monsters, demons and spirits." She took a casting stance. "You might want to get out of the way." Renji, Rangiku and I leapt out of the way and Raine shouted, "Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" She paralyzed the monster without using the incantation and then retook her stance. I could sense Mana being mixed with Reiatsu flowing through Raine as she prepared a spell, "Light be thy sustenance and destroy the enemy!" Raine twirled her staff slowly like Rukia did when she released her Zanpakuto as she did I saw her rod begin to morph. Instead of looking like a normal wooden staff it became like a baton along the length and the end and at the tip a giant blue crystal formed at the top and a golden arc like structure formed around the crystal. Thunderbolt shaped spikes stuck out of the arc. I could see golden energy flowing into Raine's staff as she held it at the lower end of her rib cage horizontally and looked down at the ground, focusing her energy, she then opened her eyes and raised her staff high above her head, "Sacred Shine!" The light released in a tremendous outburst blasting the hollow with light based energy from all directions, completely disintegrating it. Raine twirled her staff like a baton as it returned to normal, laughed and flipped her hair, "Oh was that a little bit too much?"

"Geez never knew you had such a violent side to you," I said to Raine.

She ignored me and went to go check on the kids, "Hmm, they seem to be okay. Their blood pressure is normal and they don't seem to have incurred any injuries."

"The hollow's reiatsu may have been what knocked them out," I said.

Renji nodded his head in agreement.

"How's Rukia?" Raine called over to Marta.

"She'll be fine in a moment," Marta said using healing artes.

"Wait. How can Marta use healing artes isn't she human?" Rangiku-san asked me.

"It's probably from Ratatosk's core," I said, "I don't think it'd be possible otherwise."

"Hmm," Rangiku thought for a moment, "Marta," she called out to her.

"What is it?" Marta asked.

"Could you try some of your healing magic on my eye? If your drawing your power from another source it might be enough to cure my injury," Rangiku said.

"It's worth a shot I guess," Marta said, "Raine could you…"

"Ahhhhh! Professor Sage! We're sorry!" I looked over to see Raine punishing the children by giving them spankings.

_I didn't know Iselia accepted Corporeal Punishment as part of its school system, _I thought with a sweat drop.

Raine walked over to us as the kids followed her, rubbing their sore behinds, "What is it Marta?" she asked.

"Could you heal Rukia? I'm going to try healing Rangiku's injury. Since my healing artes are granted to me from Ratatosk as opposed to being given through birth like elves and half-elves I think it might have a greater effect on Rangiku's wound," Marta told Raine.

"Well, all right, give it a try then," Raine told her.

Marta focused her Mana and then cast a healing spell on Rangiku. I watched as the scar around her eye seemed to vanish. Her eye opened and she blinked a few times. "Hey I can see!" Rangiku-san declared joyously.

"Well that's good," Raine said with a smile.

"Well then since we completed our mission shall we head back to Iselia to discuss what to do next?" Tenebrae asked.

We all agreed and began to head back.

* * *

**Omake**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

"What's say we all have a big feast once we get back to Iselia in celebration of my healed vision!" Rangiku declared.

"That sounds great," Emil said, "I'll cook."

"You can cook?" Ichigo asked.

"Um, well…yeah," Emil answered, "I've actually cooked for myself since I was nine so it's not a big deal."

"Man if only Genis was here that kid was a cooking genius," Renji said licking his lips.

"I hear ya, or even Regal he was rather skilled too," Rangiku stated.

"I prefer Sheena's cooking really," Ichigo said, "Somehow all her recipes always came out a little more flavorful."

"Please none of them are as good as Nii-sama's homemade cooking," Rukia stated.

"I must say I'm inclined to agree with you there," Raine said.

"Um well, I don't know any of them, but I'll do my best," Emil said.

* * *

**Later…**

"Food's ready," Emil declared.

"Wow it looks delicious," Marta cried out. Emil had set out quite the banquet for the group. He had laid out ranch mashed potatoes, fried chicken strips and sushi rolls. Marta put a sushi roll on her plate and took a bite, "Wow it tastes like heaven and…" she stopped herself, remembering that no matter how much she tried to appeal to Emil it wasn't going to get her anywhere and she wanted to maintain the friendship they still had, "I mean…it's really good. You're a great cook Emil," Marta smiled.

"Th-thank you," Emil bowed in compliment before sitting down. _I wished she had finished her earlier sentence. Oh well. _He began to serve himself and dig into the meal he had singlehandedly prepared.

**End of chapter 10**

* * *

**(A/N: So Raine's finally in the story and so is Rangiku. Poor Rangiku with that scar over her eye, but thankfully Marta made her better. I'm trying REALLY hard to get to the part where I have Kratos come in, which is soon. Kratos is my undisputed favorite ToS character. Anyway see you guys for now).**


	11. The Return of the Auburn Haired Crusader

**(A/N: Even after that daily double feature on Friday I'm still going strong today. Hope you enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

After we returned to Iselia we went to the Sages' house. I began explaining everything to Raine one on one in her basement. Her reaction was…just as I expected.

"Amazing, so Emil can perform pacts with monsters just as we saw in the ruins of the ranch and the monsters can grow and evolve too? Not only that he is drawing on the power of the Centurions and Ratatosk to grow and develop? Absolutely fantastic!"

I laughed nervously and then put on a serious face, "By the way, Raine, what is Rangiku-san doing here anyway?"

"She came to Iselia only a few days ago. She was all scratched up from wounds she said were inflicted upon her by Lloyd. She said that Miss Unohana tried her best to heal Rangiku's injuries, but apparently wounds inflicted by Mana were not entirely the same as wounds inflicted by reiatsu so Rangiku said she was sent here in order for me to heal her and continue her mission. I've heard some of the story from her, but I suppose there's more to it than that," Raine stated.

I nodded, "Well for starters Emil keeps claiming Lloyd killed his parents. On top of that our group is out not only to investigate Lloyd, but also the Centurions cores. Soul Society is in on this because apparently the imbalance of Mana is causing Soul Reapers to become exposed like the last time we were all here."

"I see," Raine seemed deep in thought. "I take it though you weren't assigned to this mission though."

I shook my head, "I'm here for personal reasons. Rukia and Rangiku-san were originally the ones assigned to this mission, but according to Rukia, because of what happened to Rangiku-san, Toshiro, Renji and Byakuya were all assigned to this mission as well."

"Byakuya?" Raine seemed surprised, "Is he here?"

"Since when were you two on a first name basis," I inquired.

She closed her eyes and blushed, "Th-that's not important."

Based on her expression, and the fact that she called him by his first name, I could only come to one conclusion. "Eew. How could you possibly like someone like him?"

Raine seemed to get a bit on edge. She crossed her arms and took two steps towards me, "And why is it your problem who I like and who I don't?"

"Uh, well," I turned my head and scratched the back of it, "It's not really, but…I dunno…I just think you could do better than some stuck up jerk like Byakuya is all?"

"Like who you or Lloyd?" she laughed.

"Wha—me?" I asked in shock. _Lloyd I could understand a little bit, but how did I get dragged into this all of a sudden?_

Raine laughed, "I have to admit when you and I first met there was always something comforting of the readily concern you showed me, but when we rescued Orihime I had the feeling she may have already stolen your heart. However, I was trumped yet again. I never thought Sheena, someone not of your world, would catch your eye."

"Yeah…well," I turned my head, blushing, and rubbing the back of my neck, "Neither did I…at first."

Raine chuckled, "I thought the same thing when I first met Byakuya. He seemed cold, enigmatic and similar to all the people I encountered on my travels that would stick their nose up because of mine and Genis' appearance."

"You mean because you're half-elves?" I asked.

"No, we hid that fact pretty well for a while, but until we reached Iselia our apparel was rather…how should I put this…"

"I get it, you looked like a couple of slum folk," I said.

"Well I wasn't going to be that crude, but yes," Raine answered. "Believe it or not this jacket, the one I'm wearing, Lloyd made it for me seven years ago for my birthday."

"Really? That was awfully nice of him," I said.

Raine nodded, "Anyway, we're getting off topic. As I was saying I thought Byakuya would have the same attitude towards Genis and me, but then there was that time at Zelos' place."

"Pardon?"

"We were sharing the same room don't you recall?" she asked me.

"Don't tell me you two…"

"We did nothing of the sort!" Raine said crossly, "Byakuya went out for a walk while I had a rather…adult discussion with Lloyd. Even before that though, Byakuya didn't seem…uneasy by my presence. Even after that event I found…great pleasure in talking to him on supposedly minor things. He's a great conversationalist once you can get him going."

"Bet that must be hard," I joked.

"It was at first, but eventually I think we both started to look forward to each other's conversations," she said.

"So when did your feelings…change?" I asked.

"Well…I think it was around the time I split up from the group when we all met Mithos," she said.

"Oh yeah, Byakuya went with you didn't he?" I asked. "What exactly happened?"

"Well…"

* * *

Flashback

_**Raine's pov**_

_It was early in the morning. No one was up yet. I got out of bed and put on my jacket and boots and then stepped towards the window near the front door and took out one of the Rheairds. I went outside and was about to board it when the door opened behind me. It was Captain Kuchiki._

"_And where are you headed off to so early in the morning?" he asked. "You never struck me as the type to abandon a group."_

"_S-sorry," I said, "Did I wake you? You can just go back to sleep," I told him. _This is my personal mission. No one needs to accompany me.

"_I sleep lightly as a defense mechanism," he told me. "You need not blame yourself."_

"_Still there was no reason for you to come out here and check up on me."_

"_I didn't know it was you at first."_

"_Who did you think I might've been then?"_

"_That's not important," he answered coldly. There was a cold silence. Captain Kuchiki eventually broke it, "Are you going off on a personal escapade Professor Sage?"_

"_Something like that."_

"_Don't you think it might be dangerous to head off on your own?" he said. "Someone of your intelligence I think wouldn't think to go off alone considering you're specialization is healing and support magic."_

It doesn't seem like I'm going to get out of here quickly if I don't think of something quickly. _I sighed. _He's just one person, best if I go with him than with the whole group. _"If you're that worried about me, perhaps you'd like to accompany me."_

"_I think it's perhaps better if you stay here and wait for the others to awaken."_

I knew it. He wouldn't want to be seen alone with me. What would the others possibly think if they knew we had gone off on our own with no warning or explanation? I shouldn't be so surprised though. A noble would never want to be caught dead alone with a mere common half-elf. Even so…_"I'm sorry, but this is something that cannot wait." I told him adamantly._

_He sighed. "If you're going to be that stubborn about it, where were you planning on going?" _

"_I was going to head to the Otherworldly Gate. When Regal mentioned it, I thought it sounded familiar."_

"_Do you even know where it is? You might be separated from us for some time if you go off alone."_

"_No, I have a pretty good idea where it's located. I must investigate it."_

_He took a few steps forward. "If you're going to be that insistent about it, then I shall accompany you."_

"_Huh?" I didn't think he'd actually accept my proposal._

"_I've done research back at Meltokio on the Otherworldly Gate and have wanted to investigate it for myself. If you believe you know where it is located, I'd wouldn't mind accompanying you."_

"_I…thank you," I said._

End Flashback

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

"Of course looking back on it he probably thought that the Otherworldy Gate could possibly bring you all back to Soul Society, but at the time, just the fact of having some company was reassuring. And we did have quite a few interesting conversations on rather intellectual topics," Raine finished her story.

"Well you certainly hid it well," I told her. "I don't think anyone in our group had any idea there was something going on between the two of you."

"I think most of that had to do with the fact that Byakuya constantly thought of the world as a game up until it became more apparent that it wasn't and I…didn't want to make it obvious. I was afraid he wouldn't return my feelings," she said.

"Wait…he likes you back?" I asked. I had thought Raine was in some form of unrequited love with Byakuya, but I could barely believe Byakuya liked her back.

"Um…well…yes," Raine closed her eyes and blushed.

I chuckled, "Well you sure got lucky big time. According to Rukia, Byakuya's always turning down the noblewomen that crave for his attention."

"Yes…that's what I believe as well." It was the first time I had seen such a natural, plain smile on Raine's face. Not an exuberant, closed eyed smile, but a small, contented look of pleasantness.

"Do Rukia or Genis know about this?" I asked.

"Actually you're the first person to know about it," Raine's smile faded, "I actually didn't think any of you would ever come back. I knew you came back for Sheena so I thought maybe Byakuya might come back for me, but…"

_I didn't realize she felt so strongly about him. _I decided to brighten her mood a bit, "Hey, don't let it get you down. Byakuya's a captain so he's almost always working. I'm freelance so I've got a lot more free time on my hands than he does."

"Yes," Raine's smile returned, "You're right." There was suddenly a knock at the door, "Come in."

It was Renji, "Hey! Saddle up you two. We gotta go."

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"I just got off the phone with my captain," Renji stated.

Raine took a half step back, "Byakuya's actually here?"

"Since when were you two on a first name basis?" he asked.

"Why is everyone so intrigued by that?" I heard her mutter, slightly irritated.

"Never mind that," I said to Renji, "What did he want?"

"My captain saw a figure flying in the direction of the Triet ruins," he said. "He said it was too small to be a Rheaird and too well controlled to be Colette."

"Wait you don't think…" I started to say.

Renji nodded, "Yeah, it's probably him."

"All right, maybe we can finally get to the bottom of this whole Lloyd business," I said.

Renji nodded. "Wait! Renji," Raine called out to him.

"Hmm, what is it?" he asked.

"Did…did your captain…did he say anything else?" she asked.

Renji scratched his head, "Come to think of it he did ask if he could talk to you, but I told him you were busy, so he just said he'd talk to you if you two met in person. Why?"

I looked over to Raine. She was blushing slightly and trembling a little. "Raine?"

"I…I-I-I'm fine…really," she walked out the door and headed for the exit to her house.

"Wait a minute are they…is she…?" Renji was confused.

"Apparently so," I stated, trying not to laugh.

"Whoo, boy," Renji scratched the back of his head. "Rukia and Genis are _not_ going to be happy about this."

* * *

**Triet Desert?**

When we crossed from the Iselian fields into the Triet fields, I was prepared for the blistering heat, but when I started to see snow, needless to say I was…rather surprised.

"Brr, it's freezing," Rangiku-san shuddered.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"This appears to be the work of a Centurion's core," Tenebrae stated.

"Which one?" I asked.

"Ignis'," Tenebrae stated.

"Is that the Centurion of Ice?" Renji asked.

"No, fire," Tenebrae stated.

"Fire? But this desert's turned into a subarctic tundra!" I declared.

"I believe the core's loss of control is having a negative effect. The Centurion's power is working in reverse," Tenebrae explained.

"Fire?" Raine seemed to be thinking of something.

"What is it Raine?" I asked.

Raine folded her arms, "You said that there was a Centurion of Light in the basement of the Tower of Mana right?"

"Yes, but Lloyd took it from us," Marta said.

Rukia seemed to be catching onto whatever Raine was thinking, "Raine you don't honestly think that…"

Raine nodded, "I do. It appears that the Centurion's cores seem to reflect where the Summon Spirits are. Tenebrae, do the Centurions relate to Summon Spirits in any way?"

"No, nothing of the sort," Tenebrae stated, "Though Centurions' cores are located in places with unusually high concentrations of mana. The Centurions use their elemental attributes to counterbalance these mana anomalies."

"I see, then it's possible we could just go and visit the places where the Summon Spirits are located, there's no need to follow Lloyd," Raine deducted.

"Do you suppose Kratos figured that out and that's why he's on his way to the ruins?" I asked.

"Wait, we're following Kratos?" Raine asked.

"Huh? Yeah, we thought it might be possible that Kratos is the one who goaded Lloyd into all of this after talking with Dirk," I said.

"I see," Raine seemed deep in thought. "We shouldn't waste any time, let's get a move on then." Raine trudged off through the snow.

"What's with her?" I asked.

"Maybe she spoke with Kratos and isn't telling us," Rukia stated.

"No, the way she acted seems more like she's afraid of Kratos or something," Rangiku-san stated.

"Why would she be afraid of him?" Emil asked.

"Let's put it this way, before I came into the picture Kratos was the one who mentored Lloyd. They stand on equal ground in terms of fighting power and ability, but Kratos has far more skill, strength and experience than Lloyd, and he's not as merciful either," I said.

"What will we do if we have to fight him?" Emil worried.

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but the possibility of that may not exist," I said.

"We should make haste then," Marta said, "If Kratos is as skilled as you say, we'll need to get the Centurion's core before he shows up." I nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Triet Ruins**

Upon arrival at the ruins everything was covered in snow and ice. Raine…wasn't too happy about that to say the least.

"NOOOOOOO!" she cried out.

"Wh-what's the matter?" Emil asked.

"What happened? I'd heard the Giant Tree destroyed some of the area, but the precious ruins! The polycarbonate! Such a terrible loss of priceless history!" Raine was freaking out. Her ruin mode was in full effect.

"Maybe Raine's got a split personality too," Marta joked.

"Too?" Emil was confused.

"Well, I mean, when you're in battle, and sometimes even when you're not, you change into a different person," Marta told him.

"I change when I'm not in battle?" Emil asked.

"What? You mean you didn't notice when you all of a sudden became a complete hot head when you were talking to me?" Rangiku-san asked him.

"Not…really," Emil answered, bowing his head.

_He doesn't know that his personality changes when he switches to his other self? _

"Wait Emil changes when Ratatosk's power takes hold of him?" Raine asked.

"Er…yeah…I sort of forgot to mention that. Sorry," I apologized.

"Yeah, it seems like I transform whenever Ratatosk's power takes hold of me," Emil said.

"And Ratatosk's core is living off of Marta correct?" Raine asked.

"Yes, it's this jewel on my forehead," Marta pointed to it.

"I see," Raine seemed deep in thought.

"Raine?" I was wondering what she was thinking.

Tenebrae broke the silence that followed, "Sorry to interrupt, but I sense both monsters and sapient life down below."

"Oh no, do you think Kratos is already here?" Emil asked.

"We won't know until we go inside," I said. I walked over to the slab of concrete we had used to enter this place the last time. I brushed the snow away. The entrance was still open, but it was covered in a thick sheet of ice. I unsheathed Zangetsu, twirled it around and slammed it into the ground. The ice didn't budge an inch. "What the hell?"

"I've never seen ice be so steadfast," Rangiku-san observed.

"Steadfast…let me see that," Raine ran over to me and knelt down, running her hands over the ice. "This is a defensive ice type spell used on the inside. It appears it was created to keep people out."

"But Kratos can't cast ice spells," I said, "Only Earth, Lighting, Fire and Wind."

"Indeed, and the ice seems to have been formed in a well-crafted manner. Only an elf or a half-elf with extreme skill in magic could pull something like this off," Raine seemed to wonder how we were going to get in.

"Emil, perhaps we should summon that Chimera you formed a pact with," Tenebrae suggested. "It's fire breath ability could be just what we need to shatter the ice."

"Ah, you're right. Why didn't I think of that?" Emil exclaimed. "Call it out right away."

"As you command," Tenebrae did a back flip and let loose the Chimera.

"Hee hee, Athenos is so cute," Rangiku-san giggled.

"Athenos?" Emil tilted his head.

_Not again, _I sighed.

The little Chimera pushed its chest forward in pride and mewed. "It seems to like the name Rangiku," Marta giggled.

"I like it," Emil smiled and then pointed at the ice, "Athenos use your fire breath."

Athenos mewed and then flitted up into the air and breathed fire down onto the ice, melting it away. It landed and did a back flip and flapped it's wings while giving a prideful stance. "Looks like the little guy seems pleased with his accomplishment."

"Yeah," Emil nodded.

"Perhaps we should leave him out of the seal sphere for a bit," Rukia suggested, "If we come across any more thick ice he can melt it for us."

"That's not a bad idea actually," Raine stated.

Athenos mewed and bounded forward towards Rangiku and started rubbing against her ankle.

"Ha ha, he's taken an attachment to you Rangiku," Emil laughed.

Rangiku picked up Athenos like he was your normal everyday house cat and put him on her shoulder. She stroked his back a few times and he started to purr. "Wow he really likes you," Renji laughed.

"He's like my own little pet," Rangiku smiled.

"I hate to break up this touching moment, but we have a mission to accomplish," Tenebrae reminded us.

We nodded and headed down into the ruins. It was dark and dank down here and some of the walls were dripping with water, others had frozen stalactites everywhere. Athenos was alert enough to burn away every ice obstacle that could cause us harm though. Eventually though we heard someone up ahead complaining, "Man, I give up."

"That voice…I knew it," Raine ran ahead.

"Hey, Raine wait up," I followed suit and so did the others. We came face to face with Genis standing in front of a rather large red, tree monster.

"Genis!" Raine was surprised to see him.

"Huh? Raine!" Genis whirled round to face her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, "I've been worried sick about you."

"S-sorry, I was going to go back to Iselia, but I took notice of Kratos flying overhead headed for the ruins. I thought to ask him about Lloyd so I tailed him here," Genis said.

"Is he inside?" I asked.

"Huh? Ichigo?" he was surprised to see me.

"Hi,"Rukia smiled.

"Ah and Rukia too, what are you guys all doing here?"

* * *

**One short explanation later…**

"Oh I see," Genis said.

"You said you were tailing after Kratos?" Renji asked.

Genis nodded, "Yeah, but I don't think I got here ahead of him, so I set up those ice traps to keep us both in so I could be sure…wait did you guys disarm them?"

Athenos mewed.

"Is that a monster?" he asked.

"Yup, his name is Athenos he's a Chimera," Rangiku-san stated.

"And this is Cotton," Rukia said kneeling down next to the rabbit, "she's a Cotton Tail."

"I see, but anyway about my question…"

"Athenos disarmed them he was trying to answer you," Rangiku-san giggled.

"Well now what, I set those traps up for Kratos, now what am I supposed to do?" Genis sighed.

"Hey, you're not in this alone," I said, "If we run into Kratos, we'll see what he's up to together."

"Yeah, you're right," Genis said.

"Incidentally why were you complaining earlier?" Rukia asked.

"Well this big monster got in my way. I wonder if Kratos was able to move it somehow," Genis pondered.

Tenebrae materialized, "Perhaps he was able to feed the monster to get by."

"Wh-what the heck is that?" Genis freaked out.

"I am Centurion Tenebrae. A pleasure," Tenebrae said.

"Oh yeah, you must be that Tenebie guy Colette told me about," Genis said.

"First of all my name is _Tenebrae,_" Tenebrae got irked, "Secondly this monster is called a Bartek and when this particular monster is asleep, it absorbs all attacks."

"Is there a limit to what it can absorb?" I asked.

"I don't like where you're going with that Ichigo," Raine said ominously.

"Raine's right, we don't need a repeat of what happened in Asgard," Rukia said. I gasped.

_No, not in front of Raine. I like life too much._

"Oh, what happened in Asgard?" Raine asked.

"Oh well Ichigo—mrrmrrurummuph!"

I covered Rukia's mouth, "Nothing, nothing happened in Asgard," I said with a smile, "Right Emil? Marta?"

"Uh…yeah…n-nothing at all ma'am," Emil said, shaking.

"I don't see what you're all so worked up about. Had Ichigo not shattered the ruin we never would've been able to claim Ventus," Tenebrae stated.

_Tenebrae no!_

"YOU DID WHAT?" Raine exploded.

I jumped behind Rukia, "Don't kill me please. I have too much to live for. Besides it was all Rukia's idea."

"Aw no," Rukia twirled me back in front of her, "You're not passing the buck to me Ichigo, besides I had nothing to do with it. Take your punishment like a man."

"But…but…" I could feel Raine's ominous shadow looming over me. I turned to see her eyes glowing red with anger and fury. I laughed nervously.

* * *

**5 minutes later…**

**Emil's pov**

Ichigo was out on the ground, completely knocked out. Marta was healing him. Raine really laid into him. It was really terrifying. I didn't know women could be so violent.

"S-so…what do we do to get past the Bartek?" I asked.

"We'll have to give it something to eat," Tenebrae stated, "A bartek's diet consists of mainly freshwater fish and monsters."

"But we don't have either do we?" I asked.

"Perhaps we could by some at Triet," Rukia suggested.

"Or," I heard Ichigo's voice. He had regained consciousness. "We could try lifting this thing and throwing it."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Rukia asked him, "You don't have Chad or Presea's natural strength."

"And a Bartek weight ranges from 250 to 350 kilograms, I don't see how anyone could lift it with ease," Tenebrae explained.

"Then we can just feed it this," I heard a calm callous voice call out. We all turned around. Standing at the other end of the hall was a man with auburn hair and a mauve outfit. He had a sword sheathed at his left hip side. He was carrying a large mackerel.

"So you decided to show up after all, eh Kratos?" Ichigo asked, getting to his feet. He recovered awfully quickly, but I guess that was a good thing.

_So he's Kratos, _I told myself. _Lloyd's father._

"Are you here to get in our way?" Renji asked.

"I'm here for Ignis' core," he stated, "We have that same goal in common do we not?"

"Wait, what about Lloyd? Where is he?" Rukia asked.

Kratos ignored Rukia and walked past her and gave the fish to the Bartek. It woke up, ate the fish and dragged itself down the section of one of T-intersection that was just down the corridor we were standing in. "Shall we go?"

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Ichigo shouted. Kratos ignored him and kept walking. "Damn it! That guy really pisses me off!"

"Can we trust him?" I asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo said.

"Maybe he and Lloyd are competing for the cores," Renji suggested.

"Or maybe they started off working together and are now working against each other," Marta proposed.

"Either way we should follow him," Genis said. "Whenever Kratos became involved the truth always seemed to just pop out of nowhere."

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, you're right about that, let's go."

* * *

**Ignis' Altar**

**Ichigo's pov**

Kratos hardly spoke a word to us all the way to the altar. He didn't seem to be trying to shake us off either. If we slowed down too much he'd tell us to hurry up. But he wouldn't answer any question we threw at him. I know Kratos could be a complete jerk at times, but this was really pushing it. He walked at the head of the group. As we walked Tenebrae seemed to being eyeing him suspiciously.

"What is it?" I asked him at one point.

"It's nothing, but that man, Kratos, seems somewhat nostalgic in appearance."

"You don't say." I wondered if it was possible that Kratos and Tenebrae had met a long time ago. I didn't say anything though. Until I could be sure where Kratos' alignment was, I wasn't going to do any explaining. If it turned out he was an ally it'd be his responsibility to fill in the gaps on his own history.

When we finally reached the altar Raine raced right up to Ignis' core, taking the shape of a seed similar to that of Ventus', but it was red. "So that's Ignis' core! Amazing! It sparkles so magnificently! Ahahahah!"

"There she goes off into Ruin Mode again," Genis sighed.

"Ruin Mode?" Emil asked.

"Raine's obsessed with ruins and ancient artifacts and such. That's why she went ballistic when she heard Ichigo wrecked the stone tablet in Asgard."

"So that was your doing?" Kratos asked.

"And if it was?" I asked him back.

He didn't respond. Raine ran over to Marta. "Marta I wish to see the ritual for hatching a Centurion! Please perform it!"

"Y-yes," Marta went over and snatched up Ignis' core and hatched it.

"Ignis is now awake. As Ignis' powers return, Emil, as a Knight of Ratatosk, should also awaken to new powers," Tenebrae stated.

"A knight of Ratatosk?" I heard Kratos say.

"Kratos?" Renji called out to him.

As Marta and Raine walked back towards us Kratos rushed forward knocked Raine aside with his shield. "Raine!" I ran towards her.

"Demon Fang!" Kratos attacked me in attempt to bar my path.

Marta screamed as Kratos grabbed her around the neck. She gasped in fright when his blade was put near her neck, "Marta!" Emil called out.

"Emil! Help me!" she cried out.

"Kratos what the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yes I'm cutting things off right there. I love my cliffhangers lol. If you're lucky though I should have the next chapter up soon. Like a couple of days soon. So yeah, Genis and Kratos both make an appearance into the chapter and Kratos has taken Marta hostage. What will happen? Find out on the next chapter of Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai. Coming soon!)**


	12. Explanations, Reasons and Decisions

**(A/N: So what exactly is Kratos' aim? Let's find out)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

"Emil! Help me!" Marta called out to him.

"Kratos what the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"Hand over Ventus and I shall return Marta to you without a single scratch on her," Kratos responded.

"You…you're on Lloyd's side aren't you?" Emil shouted.

"Kratos what the hell is going on?" I shouted. "What do you and Lloyd seek to gain by gathering up the Centurion's cores?"

"Give me your answer and I shall give you mine," Kratos responded.

_Like father like son eh?_

"We're…" Marta said from underneath Kratos' grasp, "We're trying to awaken Ratatosk."

"I see," Kratos gave his usual answer.

"Kratos what do you know? Tell us," I asked.

"I'm only going to say this once. Give up on your quest to revive Ratatosk. If you do the sapient life on this world will be eradicated."

"What the hell are you playing at?" I shouted.

"Ichigo you should be the last one to raise your voice," Kratos told me.

"Going to give us some form of ancient insight?" Renji asked.

Kratos made no gesture and just spoke. "Long ago, during the Kharlan War, Mithos formed a pact with Ratatosk, the Summon Spirit. We promised him we would protect the Giant Kharlan Tree."

"The separation of the worlds," Rukia realized Kratos' point. As with all the other summon spirits if Mithos broke his vow with Ratatosk he would no longer have Ratatosk's power.

"Yes," Kratos stated, "Ratatosk adored the Giant Kharlan Tree. The fact that he is dormant, even after the world's reawakening, tells me he awoke once and someone tried to put him down. Tried and almost succeeded. Isn't that right, Centurion Tenebrae?"

"Indeed," Tenebrae stated.

"Wait huh?" Emil turned towards the dark Centurion.

"Upon Lord Ratatosk's initial awakening he was nearly killed. I was the one who rescued him," Tenebrae stated.

"Tenebrae," Marta called out to him only to gasp when Kratos increased the power of his hold on her.

"Don't you understand?" Kratos said. "If Ratatosk is awakened he'll kill everyone. Lloyd as well as I cannot allow that. We're going after the Centurions cores to stop that."

"But then why let Ignis be hatched?" I asked.

"I'm sure you know that cores drive people insane in their dormant state. Even so, we plan to hatch the Centurions and later kill Ratatosk. I have a plan to keep the Ginnungigap, which he guards, closed even without Ratatosk's power."

"And what exactly is your plan? Maybe we can help," I suggested.

"I'll not ask help from someone attempting to revive Ratatosk," Kratos stated.

"I don't understand…Ratatosk…won't destroy the world," Marta grunted, "Why can't you trust us? And even if you seal the Ginnungigap what about the balance of Mana that the monsters control? How do you plan to contain that?"

"As I stated earlier, our plan is to awaken the Centurions, for they are the ones who hold the balance of Mana. Ratatosk and Martel, the Summon Spirits of the new world tree, are responsible for leading them," Kratos stated.

"So you plan to use Martel in place of Ratatosk then," Rangiku-san deducted.

"Correct," Kratos answered. "And so all I'm asking is that you hand over Ventus and leave the matter of the Centurions to Lloyd and me. Soul Society need not worry about this problem. It's being taken care of."

"And Lloyd agreed to this?" I questioned, "That doesn't sound like Lloyd to me. Lloyd would want a world where Ratatosk could at least live."

"Lloyd is an idealist to a fault, but even he has to realize, eventually, that there is a difference between idealism and reality," Kratos stated.

"And what about the Blood Purge?" Emil was in his Ratatosk possessed persona, "Was that part of your plan too? What was the point of killing all those innocent people?"

"Emil has a point Kratos. Lloyd attacked me and Soul Society can't just sit by and let that slip under the radar," Rangiku stated.

Kratos was silent for a moment only to say, "Sometimes a puzzle comes with extra pieces. When you have removed those extra pieces you will understand."

"Would you quit being so cryptic constantly and just give a straight answer?" I asked.

"You're in no position to be telling me what to do," Kratos stated calmly, "Make one false move and I shall kill the holder of Ratatosk's core."

I heard a sword being drawn. "Emil stop!" I shouted seeing him prepped for battle.

"You honestly think you can defeat me?" Kratos asked.

"I already made my vow when I became a Knight of Ratatosk. And I also won't let anyone hurt Marta either!" Emil shouted. "Athenos now!" Emil looked over to a pillar. The small little Chimera jumped out and made to bite Kratos' leg. Kratos made to kick the small little thing out of the way, knocking him slightly off balance, giving Marta the chance she needed to slip underneath the seraph's grasp. Kratos swung, but Marta rolled away and ran towards us.

"Demon Fang!" Kratos fired the attack at Marta to attack her, but Emil leapt over her head and blocked the hit. Athenos flew over to Emil and landed near him.

"Is Ignis' core intact?" Emil asked Marta.

"You mean this core?" Kratos asked holding it up.

"You bastard, we had it first!" Emil shouted. Kratos stowed the core away in a zippered pocket. "If you want Ignis' core, you'll have to beat me in order to do it." Kratos was now standing with his sword at his side and he seemed to have picked up a new shield along the way. His shield was made of some sort of silver metal and had a blue line running across the front of it. "Show me the power of a Knight of Ratatosk."

"I have to fight you?" Emil asked.

"Did I stutter?" Kratos asked.

"Emil let's give up on Ignis, you're nowhere near Kratos' level," I shouted.

* * *

**Emil's pov**

_I can tell already, he's far above my level. Just by looking at his stance I can tell. This isn't like when I fought Lloyd, Kratos is far more dangerous_. _Damn it! Stop shaking damn it! I won't run away! I won't run away! I won't run away! I'll, _"Stand and fight!"

"Emil! Stop!" Ichigo shouted to me, but I ignored him. I charged straight at Kratos and made to strike. Without moving his feet he slashed at my chest line. I had to back step in order to avoid being attacked.

_He's definitely skilled. _I told myself. "Demon Fang!" Kratos used some form of instant movement and before I knew it he was behind me and swung. I just barely had time to block. His sword was finely crafted. It was a dark amethyst with a red rune pattering at the tip with a golden handle. My sword was starting to chip just from sparking against such a magnificent blade. Kratos, with a still, stoic gaze, continued to put pressure on my sword. I crouched down. "Griffin Rush!" Kratos leapt back away from me.

"Fire ball!"

_He can use magic? _I thought only to get slammed in the chest and blown back. Kratos appeared near me and drove his shield into my stomach sending me spiraling away in the direction of Ignis' altar. I grunted and made to get up.

"It's obvious you're far beneath my level. I'll let you live if you decide to give up now," Kratos said to me.

"No," I panted, "Not until…not until you hand over Ignis."

"What did I say earlier? If you awaken Ratatosk the world will be destroyed. Give up on your quest," Kratos told me.

"How can you be so certain Ratatosk will destroy the world?" I asked. "I can understand he doesn't take kindly to betrayal. Who would? But what makes you think he'd go so far as to eliminate humanity?"

"Ratatosk is an extremist," Kratos stated folding his arms. "Since it was the humans and the half-elves who were responsible for destroying the Giant Kharlan Tree through war he would ascertain that the only true way to prevent the destruction of the new world tree would be to eliminate the threat before it arises. On top of that this new tree was created during Ratatosk's slumber. It is a world tree, but it is not his world tree. Don't you understand? Reviving Ratatosk will only bring destruction."

"Even so," I took a battle stance, "That doesn't give you the right to choose that he should be killed. We will revive Ratatosk and we will prove you wrong!"

Kratos unfolded his arms, "So that's your answer. What a shame."

"Emil look out!" Marta shouted. In the next instant Kratos was right in my face he drove his knee straight into my stomach and then cut me wide up across my torso.

"Light Spear Cannon!" A whirlwind blew up from beneath me and then a blast of light sent me hurtling into the wall above Ignis' altar. I fell and started blacking out.

_Can't believe I...lost…_

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

"Emil!" I ran towards him as he lay on the ground. Kratos sheathed his sword.

"What the hell Kratos?" I snapped.

"I left him alive, be thankful for that," he said. Angered I ran forward and made to attack with Zangetsu, Kratos blocked with his shield. "Ichigo, for once try and see where the right path lays."

"Yeah, it's real great and all that you're picking up after yourself for once, but that still doesn't give you the right to come charging in here and treat us like were your enemies!" I shouted.

"If a warrior is so low class that he can be goaded into battle through taunting he should be prepared to fall," Kratos remarked. I flared my reiatsu. "Surely you realize the true enemy is the Vanguard?" he put in. "They plan to use Ratatosk and the Centurions cores to create a new Mana Cannon and use it to destroy the Tethe'allans. Surely they are the bigger threat?"

"If that's so then work together with us, stop trying to do everything yourself. Why did you only ask for Lloyd's help? Why not everyone?" I asked.

"Lloyd doesn't want the others involved. That was his own choice," Kratos stated.

"Kratos there's something you're still hiding from us. You always hide the most vital information. Stop trying to seem like you have to be the big hero and trust us for once," I told him.

"Tell me, why are you helping to revive Ratatosk?" he asked me.

"Huh?"

"I knew it," Kratos lowered his shield and turned around, "Your resolve wavered the moment I asked that question. You still don't know if reviving Ratatosk is the right thing to do. So let me ask you, who are you going to place your faith in: an old ally whom has lived for more than four thousand years or a teenage girl? Do you even know _why_ she wants to revive Ratatosk in the first place?"

"She told you, she wants to put an end to the disastrous weather Aselia is having," I stated.

Kratos huffed. "Do you think our goal is not the same?"

I growled and then noticed Marta standing behind Kratos looking worried. "Is he…"

"Can you let her by?" I asked.

"I have no intention of stopping her from getting to him," Kratos stated. Hearing that, Marta ran over to Emil and began to heal him. When I turned back to face Kratos I could've sworn his facial expression had switched when I looked away, but by the time I looked back to face him it was his normal expression.

"Kratos," I said, "Do you really think killing Ratatosk and using Martel is the only way? For once, can't you try and think that there is a third conceivable option?"

"Every option I've looked into winds up with someone dying, one of which would be me and I already promised Lloyd we wouldn't use that," he responded.

"What if there was a way to prove that Ratatosk wouldn't destroy the world, then you'd have no reason to kill him right?"

"True," Kratos answered.

"Then give me a chance. Let me have a chance to prove that our path isn't mistaken," I said placing a hand over my chest.

"And just how would you go about doing that?" Kratos asked me.

"I don't know yet, but then again did Lloyd exactly have an idea how he was going to save both worlds when they were split?"

"Touché," Kratos responded. He reached into his pocket and tossed something to me. I caught it.

_This is…Ignis' core._

"If you truly believe you can find a way to subdue Ratatosk I will give you your chance and explain the plan to Lloyd. However, the next time our paths cross, if you don't have any idea of how to do so we shall take the cores you have accumulated by force," Kratos told me.

I smirked. "Wouldn't have it any other way," Kratos turned around and began to walk away, "Wait! Kratos one last thing!" he stopped, "Why did Lloyd attack me back at the Sinoa cave?"

"As I said before Lloyd didn't want anyone else involved, he probably did that to keep you from becoming involved. That would be my guess," Kratos said.

"He has a funny way of showing concern for his comrades then," I said. "He's gonna turn into you one of these days if this keeps up."

Kratos didn't respond and just headed to exit the Triet Ruins. Renji and the others let him pass. I then heard Emil grunting. He was back to his old self. "Ugh, what happened?"

"Kratos kicked your ass, that's what happened." I told him.

"That's right, I lost," Emil said, "Now Ignis' core is…"

"Right here," I extended it out to him. Both Marta and Emil were shocked. "I managed to reason with Kratos. If we can prove that reviving Ratatosk won't destroy the world we can continue to go about our business. We have until the next time we run into the two of them to prove it."

"How did you manage to reason with him?" Emil asked getting to his feet. "If it had been Lloyd…"

"If it had been Lloyd I would've smashed him into the ground without a second thought," I spat out and then calmed down, "Kratos has a better understanding of our situation it seems. It helps when you've been around as long as he has."

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

Tenebrae came up behind me, "So I was right that man, Kratos, is the same Kratos I met during the Kharlan war."

"What?" Marta cried out, "But how is that possible?"

"Yeah, isn't he Lloyd's father?" Emil asked.

"It's a complicated mess," I said.

"Well as long as there's no immediate threat I suppose we could sit around and you could explain it to us," Marta stated

"I suppose," I said, sitting down on the ground.

* * *

**One explanation later…**

"And that's that."

"I see, so that's how he's Lloyd's father and a seraph of Cruxis," Emil stated.

Marta was sniffing, slightly tearing up, "H-hey Marta are you ok?" I asked her.

"That story was so sad," Marta said. She pulled a tissue out of her handbag and blew her nose.

"I didn't know Lloyd had such a complicated background," Emil said, "And…it sounds like Lloyd was only hard on you because he didn't want you involved. I don't understand."

"I don't either, but from the sound of it Kratos seems to think we'll find the answers if we investigate the Vanguard," I said.

"However, attacking them head on would be fruitless." Tenebrae stated. "We should wait until we have reason to do so. Besides putting an end to the weather patterns comes first."

"Before that, was it true what Kratos said, that Ratatosk feels betrayed by Cruxis for the world tree's destruction?" I asked.

"It is," Tenebrae stated, "However, I believe, given time, we can show Lord Ratatosk that erasing humanity off the map is out of the question."

"Yeah," Emil said rising to his feet.

"Ichigo," Marta said to me as we both rose with Emil.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Thanks for trusting in us. I thought for sure when you were talking with Kratos that you would've wanted to join up with him and Lloyd. I mean you really don't have any particular necessity to be traveling with us," Marta told me.

"I was about to, but Kratos was being thickheaded as usual. He said that Lloyd wanted there to be a way for Ratatosk to live. Lloyd can work things out with his old man on his own. You guys need my help more. Besides if I went off to help them I'd never be able to do what I came here to do originally," I said.

"Oh yeah you said you came here to see someone right?" Emil asked.

"Yeah I—" Before I could finish speaking the core started to glow. "Whoa, what the…?"

"It appears one or more of our monster companions is evolving," Tenebrae stated.

"Ah Cotton come back here!" I turned in Rukia's direction as Cotton came bounding down towards our group. Athenos came near us as well.

"They're both glowing," Marta said.

Athenos was the first to change. He grew to more than ten times his size. He was huge. He looked a lot more intimidating as well. He had a mane, large horns, his tail now had a large stinger on the end and his wings extended outward to about the size of a bus. He had four, powerful legs, each with incredibly sharp claws and rows upon rows of sharp teeth. His yellow fur remained the same shade. "Wow, he got really big," Emil seemed a little frightened.

"Meet the first evolved stage of the Chimera, a Manticore," Tenebrae stated.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," I declared. "This looks like a monster that can help us save the world. Athenos reared back and roared. Emil screamed like a frightened little school girl.

Athenos lowered his head as Emil fell over onto his ass. "Please don't eat me, I don't taste very good," Emil shivered only to be licked by Athenos' tongue.

"Awww, heh heh," Marta giggled, "He may look scary, but he's nothing but a big softie on the inside."

"Yes it appears Athenos is quite glad you are all right Emil," Tenebrae stated.

"Heh…heh," Emil still seemed kind of uncomfortable.

"Hey come on, don't be scared of him," I walked over to Athenos and pet him on the forehead. He let out a low growl. "See he's as tame as a kitten with regards to us."

Emil reached out and pet Athenos on the nose. Athenos licked him again. Emil laughed, "I guess you're right."

"Well okay, what about Cotton then?" I asked. I was hoping she might turn into some form of cunicular giant, but she only doubled in size, making her just about Rukia's height. All of her white fur turned red and two tufts of yellow fur extended off of her ears.

"Due to the exposure from Ignis' core it appears Cotton has evolved into a type of monster known as a Carbuncle," Tenebrae explained.

"Can Cotton evolve any further?" I asked.

"Most monsters can evolve more than twice, but there are some who simply have different branches of evolution. As for Cotton it's possible for her to evolve again if she gains enough experience in battle or exposure to the cores," Tenebrae stated.

"She's so big!" Rukia came out of nowhere and hugged her pet. Now able to do a proper height comparison it looked as if Rukia was still half a foot taller than Cotton. "And she's super soft too."

"At any rate," I said, "Where should we head to next?"

"Let's go to Triet," Marta said, "We need to regain our energy after all this walking around."

"What about after that?" I asked.

"Hmm…Raine!" Marta called over to her.

"Yes," Raine seemed to have recovered from Kratos' assault on her earlier.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Rukia healed my injuries while Emil fought with Kratos. I'm fine now, though I must say that was rather reckless of you Emil," Raine said.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Emil got pent up, "But I won't lose to him next time or Lloyd either for that matter." He stared at the floor, "I don't understand why they can't trust their friends. Raine, Genis, Colette, Renji, Rangiku, Rukia, Ichigo, you guys are all good and kind people and Lloyd and Kratos can't be bothered to trust you. They should be honored to have friends like you, friends who are worried about them."

"I appreciate the concern, thank you Emil," Raine said. "Now then Marta what was it you needed?"

"Raine do you know where the other Centurion's cores are located?"

"So you're going to continue to go after them despite Kratos' warning?" she asked.

"I take it you disapprove?" I questioned.

"It's not that I disapprove. I heard what Kratos said to you about giving you a chance. I just thought that perhaps we should investigate the truth behind Ratatosk further before we make any hasty actions," Raine explained.

"Well the only research institutes I can think of in this place are Sybak and Meltokio," I said.

"I'll go with Vice Captain Matsumoto then to those places. We were originally assigned this mission so we should be the ones to go out and search," Rukia exclaimed.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked.

"We'll be fine," Rukia said. Cotton whined.

"It appears Cotton wishes to accompany you Rukia," Tenebrae stated.

"Sorry Cotton, but Vice Captain Matsumoto and I could cover more ground on our own," Rukia looked saddened.

"Then perhaps you should take Cotton's seal sphere with you. When you're on the move you can keep her nice and compact and when travelling leisurely your monster assistant can accompany you, such is the advantage of a seal sphere," Tenebrae chimed.

"Well then that settles it, but how exactly do I release Cotton from the Seal Sphere?" Rukia asked.

"You simply charge the sphere with Mana and throw it. There's nothing too it," Tenebrae explained and returned Cotton to her seal sphere and put it in Rukia's hands.

"Let us know when you find something," Marta said.

"Will do," Rukia answered. She walked back up the steps to where Rangiku-san was and explained to her the situation and then both headed on out.

"So Raine you still didn't answer my question: where's the next Summon Spirit located? If the Centurions are in the same places as the Summon Spirits then…"

"The closest one would be in Flanoir, but we'd have to take a boat to get there," Raine said.

"Hey Renji!" I called over to him, "We're gonna go to Flanoir after we rest in Triet!" I called over to him.

"Uh…yeah that's a problem," he said walking towards us, Genis next to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My house boat isn't built to cross extremely turbulent waters or extremely cold temperatures. Docking in Flanoir with it is out of the question," he said.

I grumbled, "Aww that's limited."

"Then perhaps we should head on over to Izoold and catch a boat there," Genis suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

We all agreed and headed back out of the ruins to go to Triet to rest. Afterwards we'd embark for Izoold and catch a boat to Flanoir. _Kratos, _I thought to myself, _I'll prove it to you and Lloyd. I accept your challenge head and find a way to prove that awakening Ratatosk is the right thing to do._

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: So it seems all Kratos has done is make things a little more complicated, but at least he's giving Ichigo a chance to prove himself. I'm taking a break from this for a bit, I've been at this fic for a while. The chapter wouldn't have been out for a few more hours if I hadn't had a snow day today. Well anyway hope you enjoyed. See ya everyone).**


	13. Seaside Dilemma

**(A/N: I am bolstered by fan backing to continue. Special thanks to L002, Bartholomew Kamiro, Shorty35565, Sony Ninja and TriOblivion for their constant support and critiques to this series. Without your feedback I would not have the drive to keep going as strongly as I do)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

We got to Triet just as the snow stopped falling. The region was still as cold as a tundra, but it looked like it was starting to warm up a bit. Seeing all the snow I couldn't help but be reminded of when Sheena and I had spent that night in Flanoir together. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I walked right into the coral used to house pets for inn guests and caused the snow on top of it to collapse on me. Genis was on the ground and Renji had his hands on his knees. Both were hysterically laughing.

"Haha very funny," I said getting out from underneath the snow. I brushed myself off.

"Wait is that who I think it is?" Raine said out of the blue.

"Huh?" I turned around following her eyes to see a figure walking out of the inn. He had white hair and was dressed in a shihakusho with a haori draped over him. "Oh hey it's Toshiro." I waved. He saw our group and approached.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I didn't expect to see you here," he said.

"It's a long story," I said.

"Captain Hitsugaya why are you in Triet?" Renji asked.

"I just arrived in Aselia a little while ago. I came to Triet since I was given a report that it was snowing here and sunny in Flanoir," he responded.

"It's been a while Captain Hitsugaya," Genis said with a grin.

"I'm surprised you're talking to me," Toshiro said and smirked, "After what happened when I was leaving I thought you would never want to even look at me."

"Y-y-yeah w-w-well P-P-Presea and I sort of…we uh…we've improved our standings with each other since you were gone," Genis said. His cheeks were flushed.

"Haha, good for you," Toshiro seemed almost happy for the kid. I was too.

"By the way Toshiro you look different," I said, "did you get a haircut or something?"

"First of all, that's _Captain_ _Hitsugaya_ to you and no I did not get a haircut. I'm taller, can't you tell?"

"Huh? Hey yeah you and I are about the same height," Genis realized, "When did that happen?"

"About the same height? I'm taller than you now."

"What? No way!" Genis denied.

"All right, all right settle down you two. I know an easy way to solve this." Raine reached into one of her coat pockets and pulled out a measuring tape.

"Why are you carrying that?" I asked.

"A good researcher must always be prepared for anything," she answered.

"You'd be surprised at what exactly else she carries," Genis said with a glazed look. Raine smacked him. Genis and Toshiro then stood next to each other and Raine took measure.

"Let's see Genis first," she rolled out the measuring tape and took a look at the marking on her finger. "one hundred fifty one centimeters, and now for Captain Hitsugaya." Genis looked like a nervous little kid, understandable since he was still only 14. Raine measured, "Well what do you know one hundred fifty three centimeters."

"Ha! In your face!" Hitsugaya pointed at Genis.

"Nooooo!" Genis lamented.

"I didn't know Toshiro could be so childish. Isn't he supposed to be a captain?" I whispered to Renji.

"When it comes to his height you'd be surprised as to how the tenth Division Captain can act," Renji told me.

"I can hear both of you!" Toshiro grumbled under his breath.

* * *

**One explanation later…**

"I see," Toshiro said after we explained everything to him.

"What are you going to do sir?" Renji asked.

"If you're going to Flanoir I suppose I'll come along with you then," Toshiro said.

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"If the weather is being reversed then some of the ice floes at the Temple of Ice may have turned into rushing streams," he answered. "You may need me to cross the path to Celsius' chamber like last time."

"Well then what are we waiting for let's get to Izoold so we can get a ship," Marta cheered.

"Don't you think we should introduce Toshiro to Tenebrae first?" Emil asked.

"That's _Captain Hitsugaya, _to you," Toshiro said.

"I'm sorry," Emil apologized.

Tenebrae suddenly appeared, "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who is insistent I be referred to in the proper manner."

"And you would be?" Toshiro asked Tenebrae.

"I am Centurion Tenebrae, but you can just call me Tenebrae, pleasure to make your acquaintance," Tenebrae told him.

"Oh, so you're a Centurion then, I wondered what kind of creatures your kind were like," Toshiro stated.

"And, what do you think?" Tenebrae sounded like he was fishing for a compliment.

"As mysterious as expected really," Toshiro answered, "Your spiritual pressure composition seems to be like that of a hollow's and a human's mixed together. It's interesting."

"I see," Tenebrae answered.

"Anyway, we came here to rest up. Let's head for Izoold tomorrow," I said.

"Agreed," Toshiro nodded.

* * *

**The Next Day**

**Izoold**

When we arrived in Izoold the first thing I noticed was the destructive scent penetrating my nose.

"Hey do you guys smell that?" Genis asked.

"If you mean this scent that makes me want to breathe through my own sock than the air around us, then yes," I stated.

"It smells like someone's cooking fish to me," Renji stated.

"Well Izoold does have a large fishing industry so that makes sense," Raine said.

"It smells like the fish is burning," Marta covered her nose.

"It smells more like someone's incinerating fish than cooking it," Tenebrae added.

"Ah, I get it, it smells like Raine's cooking!" Genis suddenly cried out.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Raine turned around looking crossly at her brother.

"I interpret it to mean you are a poor cook, Raine," Tenebrae told her.

"How dare you!" Raine shouted.

"I wonder where the stench is originating from," Emil said.

"You actually want to get closer to a stench this foul?" I asked.

"Um, yeah kind of," Emil said. At least he didn't apologize.

"It smells like it's coming from the pier," Renji stated.

We walked near the pier and saw a completely burned out section of the pier, rotting timbers and all. There was also a box near the burned area that was also torched rather well. "What the heck happened here?" Emil wondered.

Toshiro approached the box, "The container says seafood gels."

"Ah that explains the fishy smell," Marta deducted.

Toshiro examined the site a little more, "From the looks of things it seems this was done with criminal intent."

"You mean we're looking at an arsonist of some sort?" Renji questioned.

"That's precisely what I'm saying Lieutenant Abarai," Toshiro stated.

A man noticed what we were up to, "Huh, if you're worried about the guy that's been setting fire to the town, don't worry about that. We already nabbed him." He walked away.

"They got the arsonist already?" I questioned.

"No that's impossible this looks to recent," Toshiro examined.

"Jailbreak perhaps," Raine proposed.

"It's plausible," Toshiro answered.

"Unacceptable we must catch this arsonist at once!" Raine declared. I was confused.

Genis took the words right out of my mouth by saying, "Well, we could, but I'm surprised to hear this coming from you. You're usually all 'stay focused. We have to find the Centurions' cores,' and stuff."

"And just what's wrong with that?" Raine asked. There was something strangely up with her.

"We have a job to do don't forget, Soul Society's not exactly obligated to go catching criminals of this world," Renji pointed out.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Toshiro agreed. "Although if it'll keep the group together it's not as if this is entirely out of our way. We should at least go down to the harbor and find out when the next ship is departing for Flanoir."

"The…harbor." Raine looked pale.

Genis realized what was up, "Oh, that's right. You can't swim so—"

Raine slapped Genis across the face. "Fine," she said, irked, "We'll go to the harbor." She stomped off on her own.

"Raine really can't swim?" Emil asked.

"Yup," Genis answered, "She sinks like a lump of lead. Doesn't matter if it's an ocean or a stream she hates water. She kind of tries to hide it though."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot when she panicked when Chad nearly caused that room to flood at Rodyle's ranch," I said.

"Lead you say," Tenebrae piped up, "I certainly wouldn't expect that to float."

"Right that's why we sometimes people who can't swim 'lead heads'," Marta stated.

"Well that explains it then. Who could hope to swim with a head that heavy?" Tenebrae asked.

"Um that's not to be taken—"

Emil cut me off, "You think it's her head that causes her to sink?"

"No it's not be taken lit—"

Tenebrae ignored me, "Doesn't it stand to reason? Plus depending on where she would swim the lead could contaminate the water. I must admit my surprise I never thought Raine could possibly be made of metal. If that's the case it might be possible to classify her as a new breed of monster."

I let out a deep sigh, _Emil and Tenebrae could give Colette a run for her money._

"Well she is kind of like a monster when she's in Ruin Mode," Genis stated.

I laughed nervously, "Well that's certainly true."

We followed Raine down to the harbor. "Excuse me?" Toshiro tapped one of the sailors on the shoulder.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Um," Emil said, "We were hoping to get a ship to Flanoir."

"Sorry buddy no can do," the sailor said.

"Why not?" Emil asked.

"Well, you must've heard about that last fire we had. That arsonist must be on the loose again. If we shipped out now, he might escape by pretending to be one of the passengers," the sailor stated.

"Look we're in kind of a hurry mind letting us through?" I asked.

"We just had another fire, and you're in a hurry to leave town? Seems a little fishy to me," the sailor said.

I was shocked when Emil suddenly went into his Ratatosk persona, "What did you say? Why don't you try saying that to my face, smart guy?"

"H-huh? I-If you're saying you're not then…hagh!" I was appalled when Emil suddenly held up the sailor by the throat.

"Then what?" he asked sadistically.

"Emil! Stop this!" Marta and I shouted at the exact same time. Emil switched back immediately dropped the sailor and hid behind me. The sailor landed on his ass and began coughing to get his breathing regulated.

"What the hell was that about?" I asked Emil.

"I-I don't know…I'm sorry."

"I'm really not one you should be apologizing to," I told him.

"Emil! What are you thinking? You can't go into Ratatosk Mode out in public like that! Apologize to the guy!" Genis chided.

"Y-yeah," Emil walked over to the sailor and hung his head, "I-I'm sorry."

"Y-yeah s-sure," the guy was still a little freaked out by what happened. We all walked over in a cluster to discuss what to do.

"Well it sounds like we're not going to get anywhere without looking into the arsonist first," I said.

"Seems like it. Should we go to jail for clues?" Marta asked.

"Sounds like a plan," I said. We all began to head off for the prison when I turned around to see Renji staring off into the horizon.

"What is it Renji?" I asked.

"That," he pointed to a large merchant vessel with the Tethe'allan banner headed for the harbor, "A Tethe'allan merchant ship in Sylvarant territory in these times? The chances of that being legitimate are about as likely as Marta being the daughter of one of the Vanguard higher ups."

"Ah that's…" Marta started to say.

"What is it Marta?" Emil asked.

"It's nothing, never mind," Marta shook her head.

"Shall we investigate?" Toshiro asked.

"Well it's not like we can leave the harbor," I said, "I say if there's trouble it's best to be there as soon as it lands."

We headed back down to the harbor to await the arrival of the merchant vessel. However, when it arrived, it was only carrying a few merchants and a few crates of seafood gels. "Huh? I guess I'm a little paranoid," Renji stated, scratching his head. Of course that's when we felt an incredible surge of spiritual pressure. "This reiatsu," Renji gasped and then broke out into a wide grin. "I recognize this aura anywhere." He ran forward towards where the bridge of the ship was lowering down and knelt down on the ground with one knee. From off the ship stepped off one Byakuya Kuchiki. He took note of Renji and Renji got up and both walked towards us.

"Who's he?" Marta asked.

"Ah, B-B-Byakuya?" Raine was surprised and ran forward to greet him. Byakuya's expression was of similar shock at seeing her. I watched the two of them talk as Renji was given a signal by Byakuya to scoot on off towards us.

"What's with them?" Emil tilted his head.

"His name is Byakuya Kuchiki," Genis sounded a little annoyed as he spoke, "He's the Sixth Division Captain of the Gotei Thirteen. He's also one of the most famous and he's head of the Kuchiki noble clan. He's also Rukia's older brother."

"For real?" Marta seemed excited.

"Yeah, his personality is kind of flat though. I still can't understand what my sister sees in him," Genis said.

"Wait you know about it?" I asked.

"Rukia caught them making out in the woods when we spent that time in Heimdall before Lloyd's big battle with Kratos," Genis stated.

"Huh? Those two are an item?" Emil was shocked.

"I don't want to believe it, but it seems that way. I still think Raine could do so much better than someone like him though," Genis sighed. "I mean he probably doesn't care about her the same way she does for him, being that he's a noble and all."

"You really care a lot about your sister don't you?" Emil asked.

"Of course, up until recently Raine was the only family I had," Genis stated.

"What do you mean recently?" Emil questioned.

"It's a long story, I'll explain it to you another time," Genis answered. We all watched as Raine got pulled into a strong embrace by Byakuya and the two exchanged a brief kiss. "Ugh! My eyes!" Genis rubbed his eyelids furiously with the side of his hand.

"It's so romantic!" Marta swooned.

"Well I'll be damned, I didn't think Captain Kuchiki would ever get over Hisana," Toshiro stated.

"That was Rukia's opinion when she told me about it too," Genis said. At this point Raine and Byakuya were walking on over to us.

"Good to see you," Toshiro said to Byakuya.

"Likewise," he responded, "Raine just brought me up to speed. I understand you all were about to investigate into an arsonist case."

"Yeah," I said.

"The ship I just came with is being detained for the same reason none of the ships are leaving the harbor. That being the case, I'd like to accompany you to catch this arsonist," Byakuya told us.

"Well we could certainly use the help of a great mind like yourself," Toshiro told him.

"Glad to have you with us sir," Renji added. Everyone began to walk off towards the prison.

* * *

**Izoold Prison**

"Excuse us," Emil walked up to the guard, "We'd like to know more about the escaped arsonist."

"Escaped arsonist?" The guard snorted, "Don't be ridiculous. He's still in there. Have a look for yourself."

"So then this fire was caused by someone else then," Toshiro deducted.

"That or they arrested the wrong person," Byakuya suggested.

"Well I'll go have a look see," I said.

"I don't think you're the best choice for an interrogator," Genis said.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"_I'll_ talk to him." Toshiro stated, growing annoyed and walked up to the cell and peered inside, "You'd all best come take a look at this."

"Why what's up?" My question was answered the moment I saw who was inside the jail cell. "Regal?"

"Ichigo? Captain Hitsugaya? Captain Kuchiki? Renji? Raine? Genis? What are you all doing here?"

"That's what we should be asking you," I said.

"Friend of yours?" Emil asked turning towards me.

"Yeah, this is Regal Bryant," I told Emil.

"Duke of Meltokio and President of the Lezareno Company," Byakuya added.

"Lezareno!" Marta cried, "But they're huge! Why would the president be starting fires?"

"Well, obviously they got the wrong guy," I said.

"Indeed," Byakuya seemed to agree.

"What happened anyway?" Renji asked.

"To be honest, I don't really know myself. I was in town on business when I happened to meet a man named Berg, a gel maker who said he'd seen Lloyd. While we were speaking, I suddenly found myself engulfed by this strange light, and just like that, I blacked out. When I came to, the building was in flames, and Berg was unconscious. I grabbed him and ran outside," Regal explained.

"Where you were later arrested for arson," Toshiro concluded.

"Exactly, but I had nothing to do with any of it," Regal maintained his innocence.

"Of course, we would never think you would," Genis said.

"Which means he wouldn't know anything about the most recent fire," Renji stated.

"What? There was another fire?" Regal was appalled.

"Yeah, we're out to catch the guy who started them and crack them into the ground," I said smacking my fist into the palm of my other hand.

"Arson is one of the most cowardly crimes. If I could leave this prison, I would gladly join you in your search," Regal declared.

"Berg didn't vouch for you?" Toshiro inquired.

"Unfortunately, he's still out cold. He may have inhaled a lot of smoke during the fire," Regal stated.

"Certainly nothing a little healing Kido won't fix I'm sure," Renji smirked.

"Well let's go to Berg's house then and see what's up," I said.

"Can't you do anything?" Raine asked Byakuya.

"Unfortunately my pull doesn't extend far outside Tethe'allan nobility and organizations. Persuading Regal to be set free from a Sylvaranti prison would take more time than simply rousing Berg," he answered.

"We'll get you out of there soon," I told Regal. He nodded and we left the building.

* * *

**Berg's house**

When we got to Berg's house Raine examined Berg to see what the deal was.

"Well what's the verdict?" I asked.

"From the looks of it, he might have been poisoned by a light-frog," Raine said.

"A light frog? Ah, yes. That's what you humans call it. What strange names you have for things," Tenebrae appeared.

"What is that…thing?" Byakuya questioned.

"He's the Centurion I told you about," Raine stated.

"I see, so you're Tenebrae then," Byakuya deducted.

"Nice to finally hear someone getting my name right for once on the first try," Tenebrae seemed pleased.

"Anyway what was it you were saying earlier about strange names?" Toshiro asked.

"I was saying this man has been infected by the poison of the nazdrovie, the monster your people call the light-frog," Tenebrae stated.

"Nazdrovie? Light-frog?" I was confused.

"'Nazdrovie' is the proper term. 'Light-frog' is the term you humans call it. The nazdrovie absorbs high amounts of energy and releases it in a burst of light and heat. It's enough to knock out any creature that touches it," Tenebrae explained.

"Light and heat! Then that must be what's causing all the fires around here!" Renji deducted.

"Of course!" Marta declared, "It's gotta be because of that Light-frog!"

"It's called the nazdrovie," Tenebrae corrected her.

"If I remember correctly, the light-frog is a rare species that only lives near Flanoir," Genis said.

"Nazdrovie," Tenebrae corrected again.

"Then how did one get all the way out here?" Toshiro wondered.

"Izoold has a trade route with Flanoir. The creatures could have arrived in cargo bound for here, then flourished due to the unusual weather conditions," Raine answered.

"If we assume this is the result of light-frog poison then, is it possible we could find an antidote of some sort?" Byakuya questioned.

"_Nazdrovie!_" Tenebrae was really getting worked up over nothing.

Raine sighed sorrowful, "Unfortunately, there's no antidote for light-frog poison. It's more of a viral infection rather than a venomous one."

Tenebrae sighed, "I believe rosemary is able to counter the light-frog's poison."

"Tenebrae you're giving in?" Emil asked him.

"Just leave me alone," Tenebrae said depressingly and disappeared.

"Well if it's Rosemary we need where do we go oh great bearer of knowledge?" I asked Raine.

"It used to grow wild in the Camberto Caves, but I heard it became extinct with the recent climate changes," Raine stated.

I sighed. "It's too bad Inoue's not here. If she was we wouldn't even have to worry about something like this."

"Who's Inoue?" Marta asked.

"She's a friend of Ichigo's, full name: Orihime Inoue. She has a special ability that let's her reject the fate of someone or something."

"That sounds like a dangerous ability for any one person to have limitless control over," Tenebrae stated.

"Yeah, well, Inoue's a grade 'A' pacifist," I defended, "She doesn't use it except to heal people or restore things, never to erase something."

"Regardless," Raine cut back in, "There's no sense in discussing what's not an option. We know what caused the fires. Let's explain the situation so we can leave by ship," Raine stated.

"No way, I'm not leaving Regal in jail like that," I spoke outright.

"I don't like it either, but the most important thing right now is to find the Centurions' cores as soon as possible, correct?"

"But still…" Emil was timid about the whole scenario.

"It's our only choice. We've done everything we can here," Now even Byakuya was taking Raine's side.

"But I can't just ignore someone who's suffering right in front of me," Emil called out.

"Then what do you propose we do? Keep in mind that Lloyd and Kratos could be taking the Centurions' cores as we speak," she reminded us all.

"I say we find a cure!" Emil declared loudly.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? Please, you don't even have the means," Raine scoffed.

There was that strange pulse of spiritual pressure again. I knew what was coming next. "We just have to find it in those damn Camberto Caves! How can you be so sure that they're all gone?" Emil shouted, Ratatosk persona in full swing.

"And what about the Centurions cores?" Raine asked.

"Why do you care so much, Soul Society, Marta and I are the ones who need to find them!" Emil declared angrily. There was a long pause.

"All right," Raine stated plainly, "Let's go to the Camberto Caves." There was that pulse again and Emil slipped out of his Ratatosk mode. He looked at Raine puzzled as she walked out of the door. Byakuya followed closely behind her, as did Toshiro and Renji.

"Is it just me or was Raine attempting to provoke Emil on purpose just now?" Genis questioned.

"What? Why would Raine do that?" Emil asked.

"I don't know," I said.

"At any rate, we shouldn't fall behind the others. Let's go to the Camberto Caves," Marta said.

"Agreed," I nodded.

* * *

**Omake**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

"Hey Emil just be straight with me," Genis approached him slyly, "How do you feel about Marta?"

"How do I feel?" Emil asked rhetorically, puzzled. "Well I guess—"

Tenebrae came in out of nowhere, "Don't say it!"

Emil and Genis were surprised. "What? Are intra-party relationships off limits or something?" the half-elf asked Tenebrae.

"It's not that," Tenebrae stated, "Such questions must never be answered plainly. Any response should be vague, so as to create intrigue and suspense. Is this not the essence of any good soap opera?"

Genis and Emil groaned together, rather annoyed with the dark skinned Centurion. "You know 'spiteful' is probably the perfect word for Tenebrae," Genis said with a glaze look.

**End of Chapter 13**

* * *

**(A/N: Haha I just love that skit. So yeah, Byakuya **_**and **_**Hitsugaya have made their entrance into the party. Raine sure seems happy about that. Genis…not so much. Anyway, it's late. I have a speech to give tomorrow so I need my rest. See you all another time. Draconichero19 OUT!)**


	14. Light Frog Blues

**(A/N: After updating Ultimate Paradox non-stop I have decided to update this again. I was hoping to get the IchiSheena reunion in here, but that'll have to wait for next chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Emil's pov**

**Camberto Caves**

As we trekked through the Camberto Caves we looked all around the area, but not a single shred of rosemary.

"Herbs! Herbs! Herbs! Herbs, everywhere you look! It's starting to get on my nerves!" Ichigo shouted. "Where the hell is that rosemary?"

"Calm down sheesh we've only been here a few minutes," Renji told him.

Ichigo growled. "I'm sorry," I apologized, "I know the chances of finding rosemary are low. I'm sorry if I'm wasting everyone's time."

"Nah, Ichigo's not taking it out on you. He's just in a hurry to get to his girlfriend. Isn't that right?" Genis joked. Ichigo bopped him on the head. "Ow."

"Still," I heard Byakuya say, "It's like Emil said, the chances of finding rosemary is low."

I sighed. "Hey come on now. I'm sure we'll find some rosemary if we keep digging deeper!" Marta encouraged.

"You're right. I'm sorry for losing faith. I'm the one who said we should look for it, so I can't give up until the end," I declared.

"Emil," Marta seemed happy.

"What? What is it?"

Marta shook her head slightly, "N-nothing it's just, I think you've changed a little."

"Really?"

Marta nodded, "I can't put it in words, but I think it's a good thing."

"Th-thanks," I flushed.

"Awww, how sweet," Genis remarked.

Marta got defensive, "It's not like that at all! Right, Emil?"

"Y-yeah," I said. _I wish she didn't deny it so strongly now._

"Say Tenebrae if we're going to find Rosemary out here would any of Emil's monsters, be particularly useful?" Ichigo questioned.

"Unfortunately we don't have the right type of monster," Tenebrae answered. "If we had a Mandragora or an Alarune perhaps, or any of their higher class forms then maybe, but unfortunately such is not the case."

"Well then what do we do?" Renji asked. "Don't tell me we have to search through every last inch of these caves. We'll be here all day."

"There has to be some way we can narrow down our search," Toshiro stated, "Well Professor Sage?"

Raine seemed deep in thought, "Hmmm, well Rosemary is highly susceptible to frost, and drowns easily, but easily grows in dry climates. Most of the herbs around us seem to be quite the opposite of that," Raine broke off a piece of a random nearby herb, "Yes these herbs seem to thrive in wet moist conditions and easily withstand the cold. If you look at the composition…"

"As much as I'd love the biology lesson Raine could you get to your point?" Ichigo asked.

Raine humphed, "Very well. If we could generate a large amount of heat, if there was any rosemary to be found it would react in a positive way whereas any other herbs would dry up and turn to ashes."

"Sounds like a job for our genius magician," Ichigo suggested.

FLASH!

"Let me help out as well," I said drawing my sword.

"And how do you plan on accomplishing that?" Renji asked, "We need firepower. Literally."

"Like this!" I drew on the power of Ignis and selected my target a group of plants. "Burning Strike!" I leapt forward with a jumping kick, as if using Havoc Strike, but when I landed I swung my sword and created a blast of flaming energy, scorching the plants around me. I swung my sword like it was a baton and then pulled it across my body. "Nothing to it," I said.

"Are we really going to scorch the whole area?" Toshiro asked, "Isn't this bad for the ecosystem?"

"On the contrary we might be doing more good than harm," Tenebrae said.

"Ah the reverse of the weather," Marta realized.

"Exactly, the climate change could've caused all these moist plants and herbs to overgrow. Cutting them down to size isn't too much of a problem," Tenebrae stated.

"Well then Genis, Emil, we're counting on the both of you," Ichigo told us.

"Right," Genis and I said together.

"Burning Strike!" I burned another section of plants.

"Take this! Fire Ball!" Genis shot a section of plants.

"You can do it Emil," Marta told me.

"Light! Photon!" Raine illuminated a section of plants, burning some away. "Perhaps I can be of service as well." She chuckled

I nodded. "Burning Strike!" I torched another section. I then saw scorching hot fiery breath headed in my direction. I dodge rolled out of the way and turned to see Athenos. "Heh, nice to see you helping out big guy," I told him. He responded with a proud roar.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Emil, Genis, Raine and Athenos continued to work on destroying all the plants and search for rosemary. I just sat back and watched. We were waiting a good ten minutes before the group started becoming tired.

"I'm beat," Emil exhaled, back to normal, using his sword to balance himself.

"Ugh, if I have to use another fire ball I think I'm going to collapse," Genis sat down on the ground. Athenos was lying on his side, catching his breath.

I pat his horn, "Good work big guy," I told him. Tenebrae then called him back.

"Well the caves seemed to be rather de-herbified," Renji stated. "I still don't see any rosemary."

"Guess that's it then. There really wasn't any here," Emil lamented.

"Huh," Marta looked over in the distance, "That's strange. That plant over there is still standing."

"Huh?" I looked off in the direction she was looking in. I ran over to the plant. "Raine?"

"Well what do you know, it looks like there was some rosemary here after all," she said.

"Great," I plucked some of the plant off, "Now we can save Berg and get Regal out of jail."

"Yes, let's head back for Izoold straight away," Marta cried.

"Ugh, can we take five first?" Genis whined.

* * *

**Izoold**

Upon arrival back in the town there was a sudden explosion and a blinding flash and people screaming.

"Run for your lives! Monster!" Sailors were running away from the harbor.

The flash died down. _A blinding flash? A monster down at the harbor? _I ran for the harbor and caught glimpse of some sort of frog creature but before I could attack it, it dove back into the water.

"Ichigo," the others came running up to me.

"I think I just caught a glimpse of our arsonist," I said.

"You saw the Nazdrovie?" Toshiro asked.

"I believe you mean the light frog," I heard Tenebrae say.

"Yeah it just dove into the ocean just now," I pointed to the sea.

"Rats!" Marta said slightly annoyed, "If we had just been a few minutes earlier, we would've been able to get the Nazdrovie before it could get away." She glared at Genis.

"It's called the Light Frog," Tenebrae hummed.

"What are you looking at me for?" Genis asked her. "Even if we had gotten here sooner the Nazdrovie's blinding flash still would've stopped us.

"All right everyone settle down," Byakuya said. "At least now we can confirm that the Nazdrovie is in fact responsible for starting the fires."

"Oh fine I see how it is! I get it!" Tenebrae grumbled.

"Tenebrae," Emil seemed concerned for him.

_Poor guy just can't win, _I sighed.

"Anyway since we've got the rosemary," Renji said, "The least we can do is go to Berg's house."

"Agreed," I answered.

We restored Berg with the use of the rosemary and went to go get Regal out of jail. He was let out of the prison cell but there was a problem.

"I can't find the handcuff key," the guard stated.

I sighed. "If it's not one problem it's another."

Regal sighed, "Hopefully I won't get arrested a second time for destruction of property."

"Wait, huh?" I looked over to Regal as he began fiddling with the cuffs and then snapped the links apart with his mighty muscles.

Renji whistled, "Nice."

Regal turned towards the guard, "The manufacturer of these handcuffs isn't exactly known for their quality craftsmanship. Perhaps you should try the Lezareno Group model next time. I'll send you a free sample."

"Y-yes sir," the guard sttutered. It was a bit shocking to see Regal be able to snap those handcuffs like that as if they were brittle flaps of plastic.

_I can't tell if what Regal said was meant to be a joke or not, _I thought to myself.

* * *

**Later…**

Regal went to the inn and changed out of his prison garb into something more suitable. Toshiro and Raine talked to Berg about the Light Frog incident to gather some intel. I guess he wanted to hear exactly what happened. Once we were all together we decided to head off for the harbor.

"Finally we can get on the boat and head off to Flanoir!" Marta exclaimed.

"I hope we're doing the right thing," Emil mused to himself.

"Something the matter?" I asked him. He just sighed. It was like he was off in his own little world.

Tenebrae suddenly cried out, "My, what's Lloyd Irving doing over there?"

Emil flared up, "What? Where? Show yourself Lloyd!"

"I don't believe the problem is with his hearing," Tenebrae said.

"Then what's up with him?" I wondered aloud.

Emil calmed down and got annoyed that Tenebrae had cried wolf and we reached the harbor to charter a boat. I overheard the sailors complaining about how the Light Frog had eaten up all their seafood gels they had brought with them earlier.

"Now boarding for Flanoir!" One of the sailors shouted.

"Um," Emil spoke up loud enough that all of us could hear him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The boat's gonna leave," Genis told him.

"Come on, you're a man, speak up!" Marta encouraged him.

"I'm still worried about the fire. The light-frog could appear again while we're out looking for Lloyd. That would mean the fires won't stop," Emil declared.

"You certainly have a point," Raine folded her arms, "The light-frog shouldn't produce enough heat to start fires, except under extraordinary circumstances."

"But the fires in town have been going on for a while. So these "extraordinary circumstances" must be happening," Emil stated.

"Perhaps it's another side effect of a dormant Centurion's core," Tenebrae stated, "As its vulgar, human name would suggest, the light-frog is a light-elemental monster. And the core of the Centurion of Light is…" Tenebrae led us into the answer.

"Oh right, Lloyd has Lumen's core," Marta realized.

"Exactly," Tenebrae responded, "Therefore, the only way that we can resolve this problem is by finding Lloyd and hatching Lumen's core."

"Then we should hurry after Lloyd while we have this opportunity," Toshiro stated.

"But I'm worried about what'll happen if we just leave the town without doing anything," Emil spoke and looked at Raine, "You said so yourself, Raine. As long as there's a chance, you have to pursue it."

"So you're saying that you'd like to look for a way to control the light-frog's incendiary tendencies. Now that we've explained the situation to the people in town, I'm pretty sure things should be fine for a while," Raine stated.

"I agree with the professor," Toshiro stated.

"Then how about this," Byakuya proposed, "Raine, you, Genis, Captain Hitsugaya and Renji can pursue Lloyd. I'll stay here with Regal, Emil, Miss Lualdi and Kurosaki Ichigo and we'll put an end to this whole Light Frog business."

Raine chuckled, "You're sense of justice knows no bounds it seems. Very well, sounds like a plan. Then if we're splitting up I want you to have this." She handed a sealed envelope to Byakuya.

"And this would be?" he asked.

"Think of it as a Love Letter," Raine smiled. I saw Genis turn the same color as his hair.

Marta was in awe, "Wow she's so bold. I should learn from her example."

"Read it when you're alone, don't show it to anyone else," Raine told Byakuya.

He tucked the envelope into the folds of his Shihakusho, "If it's that important I shall guard with my life. I never thought the day would come when I would receive such a gift from you though, but I guess there's so much more I have to learn about you."

Marta swooned, "Such a noble charm."

_Rukia would be dying if she saw this,_ I thought to myself.

Genis was shaking, "This isn't happening…this isn't happening…"

Renji sighed and picked the kid up by his collar, "Let's go you."

"I'll see you later then I suppose," Byakuya told Raine. I was surprised when Raine blew him a kiss. Marta acted like a grade school girl with the way she squealed.

As we watched the others get on the boat Regal was the first to say something. "Well how should we go about investigating this matter?"

"Well for starters," I said, "and this has been bugging me for a while, has anyone besides me noticed that seafood gels seem to be involved in all these incidents?"

"Ah I'd come to the same conclusion," Emil called out.

"Don't be ridiculous! Who ever heard of a light-frog with an appetite for gels?" Tenebrae scoffed.

"But Emil and Ichigo have a point," Marta defended us, "All of the fires happened in places where seafood gels were being stored."

Tenebrae got irked, "Now see here, I am a Centurion! I am an expert on monster behavior!"

Emil switched to his other persona, "Quit it, Tenebrae! You're only the Centurion of Darkness! What the hell would you know about a light-elemental monster like the light-frog?"

_Even in Ratatosk mode since when was Emil ever __**this**__ much of a jerk? _I questioned.

"But," Tenebrae tried to speak up.

"Quiet! It's time to put our theory to the test. Let's go!" he declared.

"Go? Go where?" Marta asked.

"To get some seafood gels from Berg," Emil answered, "We'll use them to lure the light-frog out of hiding." He stomped off, Tenebrae at his side, Marta followed suit. Regal, Byakuya and I lingered momentarily.

"So that's Emil's Ratatosk mode then?" Regal questioned.

"Yes, as you can see he becomes a completely different person when under the influence," Byakuya said to him.

"Strangely enough I don't think it always took so little to get him to flare up like that and on top of that he's starting to be a bit more of a jackass the more times it happens," I said.

"Kind of like someone else I know," Byakuya commented.

"Hey," I took offense.

"Still, is it just me or do you and he sound exactly alike when he's in Ratatosk Mode?" Regal asked.

"No, I'd already affirmed that myself," I said.

"I see," Regal subsided further questioning.

"I also noticed that when we were in the Camberto Caves that Emil's spiritual pressure skyrocketed the first time he used that fire attack," Byakuya stated.

"It could be the influence from the Centurions' cores," I said, "Emil is a Knight of Ratatosk so maybe as Ratatosk grows in power so does Emil."

"Hmm," Byakuya seemed deep in thought. Before he could say anything else though, Emil, now out of Ratatosk mode, came walking back with Marta and Tenebrae.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Berg said he needs Jellyfish from Triet in order to make more seafood gels. He gave us special bait to get them too," Emil said with a smile.

"Well glad to see you in a good mood," I told him.

"And just how do you expect to get Jellyfish from Triet without a fishing rod?" Byakuya asked.

"Leave that to me," Tenebrae said.

"To you?" I asked.

"Of course, I can shapeshift," Tenebrae responded.

"Really?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Of course, I could turn into a jaw-dropping beautiful woman if I dare so chose," Tenebrae bragged.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe," I said.

"Hmph well then you'll see my abilities once we reach Triet won't you?" Tenebrae asked, as if he was challenging me.

"I guess I will," I said.

* * *

**Emil's pov**

As we made for Triet, Marta talked to Ichigo for a little bit. Whatever they were talking about they seemed to really get along with each other.

"Feeling jealous much?" Tenebrae asked.

"What? No!" I denied. "It's not like that."

"Oh really, then why are you turning all red?" Tenebrae asked.

"W-well th-that's because…" I tried to think of something to say.

"Emi," I gasped when I heard my name being called, but it was only Marta.

"O-oh it's just you Marta," I said relaxing a little. I swallowed and then said, "S-say Marta, do you like arrogant, brave guys like Ichigo?" I asked her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" she didn't seem to get what I meant.

"W-well…"

"Emil, please. I believe your petty jealousies can wait until after we've caught some jellyfish," Tenebrae stated.

"What? No! I wasn't…Tenebrae!" I freaked.

"Emil," Marta called out to me again. I looked over to her she was blushing with that maidenly look on her face.

"Wh-what?" I asked.

"Do you…have a crush on me?" she asked.

"No, I didn't say anything like that! Come on, Tenebrae, cut it out!" I told him.

"Yes, yes I understand," he said dryly.

* * *

**Triet**

Upon arriving in the town we went over to where the oasis was supposed to be.

"It's…frozen," Ichigo seemed bewildered.

"Well we came here to fish, didn't think we'd be ice fishing though," I said.

"Well shall we attempt to catch some jellyfish?" Tenebrae asked. I nodded. Tenebrae surrounded himself in a cloud of smoke and reemerged in the form of a fishing rod, the same color scheme as his usual self. "Well then, let's get started then." I was amazed he could still talk in that form. I grabbed Tenebrae and put the special bait Berg gave me on the rod then I dipped the rod into one of the holes out on the ice.

"How long do you think this'll take?" Ichigo asked, his question was probably directed at Tenebrae.

"I'm not sure. Even with this special bait, jellyfish are habitual common creatures, and not classified as 'monsters' so I can't say for sure," Tenebrae answered.

"So how long will I be sitting out here?" I asked.

"Days…weeks…maybe a month," Tenebrae said.

"What?" I cried out.

"I'm joking," Tenebrae sighed.

"O-oh," I said, feeling silly.

"Well," Ichigo sat down next to me. "Nothing to do, but sit and wait I guess."

* * *

**One hour later**

I was starting to nod off to sleep. I had been sitting here for so long my butt was starting to feel numb. Ichigo was sprawled out on the ice, laying his head on Zangetsu, snoring. I yawned.

"It seems the jellyfish just aren't hungry today, or perhaps they're in the mood for something else," Tenebrae said.

"Something else? You think we should change bait?" I asked.

"Maybe we should get some peanut butter," he said.

"Peanut Butter?" I was confused.

"You know," he gurgled, "Peanut Butter for the jellyfish," he began to laugh. I let out a frustrated groan.

"What? Not funny?" Tenebrae asked. I wasn't even going to comment.

* * *

**Another hour later**

Still hadn't gotten anything and now my stomach was starting to hurt from hunger, but a few moments later Marta came over with a sandwich and some Rice balls.

"Regal made some lunch, so I came to bring you your share," she handed me some food.

"Thanks Marta," I said. She sat down on the opposite side of me, putting me in between her and Ichigo.

"Still no luck with the jellyfish?" she asked. I shook my head.

Tenebrae sighed with joy, "The battle of wits between hunter and hunted is fishing's greatest joy," he said. "Although, you'd never enjoy the thrill of the hunt fishing for Lady Marta though, Emil, she's far too easy a catch."

"Well excuse me!" Marta huffed. I laughed nervously. Ichigo suddenly yawned and sat up.

"Oh, you're awake," I said.

He took one look at the pond and frowned, "You gotta be kidding me we still haven't caught anything yet!"

"Unfortunately," I said with a nervous grin.

Ichigo clenched his fist and growled. He began stomping on the ice. "Dammit you stupid jellyfish, bite the damn hook already!"

"Ichigo calm down this isn't worth getting upset over," Marta said.

"Oh!"

"What is it Tenebrae?" I asked.

"Something has attached itself to my hook," he responded.

"Finally," Ichigo sighed.

I started reeling in whatever Tenebrae caught. I pulled with all my might and eventually pulled what was on the hook right out of the water. I landed on my back and whatever I caught went soaring over my head. "Hey you did it!" I heard Marta cheer.

"Huh?" I got up off my back and flipped over. A jellyfish was plopped out on the ice. I picked it up in my fist and hoisted it over my head. "Yes! I got a jellyfish."

"Take it easy, it's not even a monster," Ichigo said.

"Hey, don't ruin the fun, let Emil be happy that his hard work and dedication finally paid off," Marta said.

"Yeah, I guess. At least now we can get back to Izoold," Ichigo said.

I nodded.

* * *

**Izoold**

The jellyfish I caught died on the way over, having been exposed to the dryness of the air, but Berg said that saved us the trouble of having to kill it himself. Regal asked if the gels could be brought down to the harbor, to avoid danger, the moment Berg was done. Captain Kuchiki and Ichigo helped clear out the harbor together, though there methods were a bit different to say the least.

We weren't waiting long when Berg brought the seafood gels down to the harbor. "All right, now let's see you prove your silly theory about my gels attracting the light-frog," he announced.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. "Ugh, too bright," Ichigo grunted.

"Don't look directly at the light, you'll pass out," I said.

After the flash a giant yellow, green frog with a crest on its head appeared. "That's it!" Ichigo shouted, "That's the stupid frog I saw diving into the ocean earlier."

"Well then shall we teach it some manners about stealing food and setting fires?" Captain Kuchiki asked.

"Let's," Ichigo scowled. Ichigo made to unsheathe his sword, but before he could Captain Kuchiki already moved past the Light frog, hand on his scabbard. Moments later two giant gaping wounds appeared on the light frog and it exploded into thin air.

"Hmph, pathetic," Captain Kuchiki scoffed.

"Amazing," Marta was in awe.

"You're telling me," I said, also amazed, "I didn't even see him draw his sword."

"That's the former captain of the royal guard for you," Regal commented, "Quick, efficient, silent."

"You were the captain of the Royal Guard?" I asked.

"It's a long story," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Captain Kuchiki just sighed.

"Anyway now that that stupid light frog is out of the way shall we embark for Flanoir and meet up with the others?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, let's do that," Regal said, "We can use my company's vessel I used to get here."

"Awesome a Lezareno company ship," Marta beamed.

"But don't you get motion sickness?" I asked.

"Oh come on what's the worst that could happen? If it's a Lezareno style ship then the ride should be less turbulent," Marta stated.

"I guess," I responded.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

**Aboard the Lezareno Ocean Liner**

Marta was lying down on the bed groaning. Tenebrae was doing the same.

Regal sighed. "If only I had some of my company's patented motion sickness medicine."

* * *

Flashback

"_You're so handsome Emil. I just love you so much."_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"I-I'm sort of glad you don't," I stuttered.

**End of Chapter 14**

* * *

**(A/N: Ok, so a bit of a breather chapter and a chance to remind everyone why Byakuya is a badass. I'm **_**really**_** trying to get to the IchiSheena reunion, which is coming soon so sit tight folks. Till next time)**


	15. Killer Confrontation

**(A/N: I have nothing to say)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Our arrival in Flanoir…was not what I expected. The town was in utter chaos.

"What the hell happened here?" I demanded to know.

"It looks like this town was plundered," Byakuya stated.

"I hope Raine and Genis are okay," Marta said.

Emil ran over to an injured man, "Are you okay?" he asked him.

"Lloyd…he…"

"Lloyd did this?" I questioned.

"Y-yes," the man must've heard me, "He came and…attacked the city…"

"No way," I gasped, "And after all Kratos said about Lloyd was just 'following orders' then this goes and happens. You raised a good little Nazi, Kratos."

"Nazi?" Emil was confused.

"Never mind," I said.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Byakuya said, "Let's split up and see what we can find."

"Is that wise going off on our own?" I questioned.

"If Tenebrae comes with me, we can locate any of you at any time," Byakuya responded.

"Sounds like a plan then," Marta said.

"Ok, let's meet up in front of the church and…"

"Lloyd!" Emil was in his Ratatosk persona. I turned around to see Lloyd heading down our way. Emil ran forward, sword drawn, at him. Lloyd blocked without even having to turn around.

"You've improved, just like Kratos said you would," Lloyd stated.

"What?" Emil was confused.

Lloyd turned and kicked Emil in the stomach sending him flying. "Emil!" I cried out.

"Sorry to jet, but I'm in a hurry," Lloyd put away his weapons.

I shouted at Lloyd, "Hey! Hold on a minute! Why did you do this?" Lloyd was silent. "Answer me!"

"Lloyd," Byakuya circled around from behind Lloyd in front of him, "Do not think you're leaving without giving us an answer. You know my motto 'criminals must be punished with the full extent of the law'. Have you become a criminal Lloyd?"

"Maybe I have," Lloyd stated without the slightest flicker of emotion.

"Such arrogance," Byakuya used Shunpo and made to attack Lloyd from behind using the same technique he used on me when we first met. Lloyd turned to block the strike, but he didn't have to. Another figure, along with his shield, got in the way.

"Kratos!" I shouted.

"Da-Kratos what are you doing here?" Lloyd asked in surprise.

"We're a team Lloyd. I can't have you running off on your own anymore it seems. So, I followed you here," he said.

"Working together at last I see," Byakuya took a moderate step back. He kept his sword ready though.

"I would advise against fighting us right now," Kratos stated, "If you do, the real culprit will blend in and you'll be none the wiser."

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I shouted.

Emil who had recovered somewhat got up and pointed to the dead guy from earlier, "Yeah that guy over there clearly said Lloyd was responsible for what happened!"

Kratos huffed, "You all still have a lot to learn."

"Why you…Kratos you bastard!" I shouted.

"Such vulgarity is not necessary," he looked over to Byakuya. "At twenty percent do you think you're a match for me?"

_Everyone's limiters are on? _I questioned.

"I have no intention on stopping you, Lloyd is a different story," Byakuya answered.

"I see," Kratos grabbed Lloyd's wrist and extended his wings, "Then, I'm glad I prepared ahead of time." There was a blinding flash of light. After it faded Kratos and Lloyd had disappeared.

"Damn them, what the hell was that?" I shouted.

"That was the power of Lumen's core," Tenebrae materialized. "I detected its presence when that light appeared."

"Damn that Kratos! He played us for fools," I grumbled.

"There's nothing we can do about that now," Byakuya put away his sword. "Let's proceed with our original intention of learning what happened here."

"Yeah now that Lloyd's gone I don't think we'll have to worry about being attacked," I said.

"Okay," Emil was back to normal, "Let's split up then." We all nodded and did so.

* * *

**Emil's pov**

I figured that if Lloyd was working with anyone with the Church of Martel then the church itself would be the best place to look. When I got inside though, there was this horrible stench that pervaded the air.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" I held my nose. There was this guy over by the altar with blue hair. The smell seemed to be coming from him. He was muttering to himself.

He heard my footsteps and turned around. "Huh? What do you want kid?"

"N-nothing," I answered. I didn't mean to disturb the guy from whatever he was doing. He swung his arm in a rather disturbing fashion and pointed it at me.

"Don't tell me?"

"What?" I tilted me head.

"You've got a crush on me too," he said.

_HUH? _My face reflected my thoughts.

The guy seemed to not only ignore it, but he struck a flamboyant pose, "Yes, the mail-order catalog did say that this 'Eau de Seduction' cologne would affect men and women alike!"

"What! No I don't!" I shouted, rather disturbed.

The guy acted like my voice didn't even exist. He kept swaying back and forth like he was checking for ticks, "Don't be embarrassed, kid, I understand how you feel. But see, I've already promised myself to another," he stopped moving and looked at me like he was trying to be serious, "But perhaps this little rendezvous was meant to happen. I shall leave you with a gift of some of my ever-fragrant 'Eau de Seduction.'"

_HUH? HUH?_ Before I knew it I was holding a bottle of this putrid smelling cologne. I pocketed it quickly so that the smell didn't bother me.

"See ya kid," that weird guy staggered out of the church like he was drunk.

"What the heck was that all about?" I shouted, rather annoyed.

The door opened again. I expected to see that weird guy, saying how he forgot something, but it was only Ichigo. "Oh there you are," he said to me. "The others want to head to the Temple of Ice. We just got a hell butterfly from Toshiro."

"Ok," I said. Ichigo sniffed the air. "What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the confusion on his face.

"What in the world is that horrible stench?" he asked. "It smells like someone tried to mix an air freshener with a can of deodorant, but all its doing is giving this really strong odor, like an underground classroom. It's vile!"

"Beats the heck out of me," I lied, even though I was carrying the culprit in my pocket. I made a mental note to dispose of this stuff later.

"Well, anyway, let's get going," Ichigo told me.

"Yeah," I nodded.

* * *

**Temple of Ice**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Ichigo's group arrived on the scene to meet up with Raine's.

"What did you find?" Byakuya asked Hitsugaya.

"The owner of the accessory shop came walking out of the temple with a Centurion's core," Hitsugaya answered, "I asked him to give it to me, as an old friend, but he said he couldn't possibly part with such a rare item."

"Old friend?" Ichigo questioned.

"Before I met up with you all on our last adventure I did some work for the accessory shop," Hitsugaya answered, "However, there was something rather odd about the person we all saw."

"Define odd," Byakuya stated.

"I can't put it in words," Hitsugaya stated.

"All right, so what do we do then?" Byakuya asked.

"Well from the sound of your Hell Butterfly to us, it seems like we'll have to go and confront Lloyd and Kratos and get some answers. Our group will track them down. You guys keep after the cores," Renji suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Byakuya said.

"Then we'll be seeing you," Raine said. She and the rest of her group began to head off.

"By the way Raine, before you go," Byakuya called out to her.

"Yes?" she turned her head to look him in the eye.

"The letter you gave me, I read every word," Byakuya told her.

Genis turned to dead weight again. Renji threw the kid over his shoulder. "You're gonna have to stop doing that." Raine's group headed off.

"Ah the passion of love, it makes my heart race," Marta cooed. She looked at Emil. "Emil, if you wrote me a letter, I'd read every word of it, too," she gasped and got out of her lovey dovey mode, "Oops, I'm not supposed to say things like that, right? Sorry."

Emil shook his head and blushed, "N-no it's fine." Ichigo took special note of Emil's rather unique reaction.

"Well what should we do now?" Byakuya asked.

"Let's head back to Flanoir and see if we can't bargain with the accessory shop owner," Regal said. "If necessary, I'll purchase it from him."

"What if what he wants is outside your price range?" Ichigo asked.

"For Duke Bryant it shouldn't be a problem, the main office employees of the Lezareno Company are paid sixty billion gald on their salary," Byakuya answered.

"S-sixty Billion?" Ichigo and Emil's eyes widened.

"Wow, you must be so rich," Marta sighed in delight.

"It's not as good as it sounds. Personally I think it's too much," Regal said.

"Yeah, No kidding," Ichigo said, still sounding slightly startled.

"Right then, shall we be off?" Byakuya asked.

* * *

**Flanoir**

"What do you mean he went to go put it back?" Ichigo banged on the accessory shop owners desk.

_At least it's not Emil flipping out for once, _Byakuya thought to himself.

"I-It's exactly what I said. M-my son couldn't find any buyers so he went to go put the jewel back where he got it. Please don't hurt me!" the shop owner crouched down onto the floor. Ichigo sighed in frustration.

"You gotta be kidding me the temple of ice again?" Marta whined.

"Excuse me," Regal said, "what happened to the previous owner of this shop?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," the man answered getting to his feet. "My family has owned this shop for three generations now."

"I see," Regal responded.

"Regal?" Ichigo questioned.

"It's nothing. Let's go back to the temple." Everyone sighed in annoyance.

* * *

**Temple of Ice**

"Well how are we supposed to get inside?" Ichigo said looking around the area. "Most of the ice and snow has melted not to mention the fact it seems the rumored Celsius tear has gone so out of control berserk that it's started devouring the temple."

"How did you know about the Celsius tear?" Byakuya asked him.

"Sheena told me about it last time I came to visit," Ichigo answered.

"Well then what do we do?" Emil asked.

Ichigo looked up over to a part of the cliff that wasn't yet afflicted by the tear. "Tenebrae, call out Athenos!"

"Oh I get it!" Emil smiled.

"Yeah, Athenos is big enough that he can get us to the top of that cliff," Ichigo smirked.

"Right then," Tenebrae released Athenos and the monster helped everyone get on top of the cliff to the upper entrance of the Temple. Tenebrae resealed Athenos and the party went inside and ran down the pathway only to come to river of rushing freezing water.

"Ugh, this again?" Ichigo lamented.

"What's wrong?" Emil asked.

"Last time we were here Captain Hitsugaya had to freeze the river with his Zanpakuto. The water's too cold to simply swim and it's not like you, Marta or Regal can walk where there is no solid groud," Byakuya stated.

Marta sighed, "So what do we do then?"

"Tenebrae any ideas?" Ichigo asked.

"I've got one!" Emil suddenly cried out. "Tenebrae, call out Zephyr!" Emil shouted.

"If you insist," Tenebrae released the large Raven out into the open.

"What do you plan to do?" Ichigo asked.

"Zephyr grab onto my shoulders," Emil said. The bird screeched and obeyed and pulled Emil up of the ground. "See nothing to it."

"It will take time to get across this lake, but I suppose we don't have another choice," Tenebrae said.

"How did the shop owner's son get across then?" I asked.

"Flanoir sells magic Water Spider boots, ported from Mizuho that allows the wearer to walk on water. It wouldn't be odd for the accessory shop to own a few pairs," Regal suggested.

"You've got an answer for everything don't you?" Ichigo asked him.

"Being the president of a large company certainly gives benefits to one's extension of knowledge," Tenebrae stated.

"That it certainly does," Regal stated with a smile.

"Well let's get everyone across then shall we?" Emil asked.

Byakuya and Ichigo crossed the water on their own two feet. Zephyr carried Emil, Marta and Regal over one at a time to the other side of the water bed. Afterwards the bird used Emil's shoulder as a perch.

"I think it'd be best if we left Zephyr out for now," Emil said, "We'll need him to cross the water bed when we're done after all."

"Agreed," Tenebrae said to Emil. The group proceeded forward into the area where Celsius used to be. A cavern was open behind Celsius' altar so the group proceeded into it. The path forked, but the path in front of the group was decorated with ruins and melting stalactites.

"Man the only way the direction to Glacies' chamber could be more obvious is if there was a big flashing neon sign that said 'Core here, graverobbers welcome," Ichigo joked.

"But this cavern wasn't even reachable the last time we were here," Regal said.

"I guess the accessory shop workers did some excavating," Ichigo deducted.

"Indeed," Byakuya agreed. The group proceeded forward towards Glacies' altar.

"Hmm, that's odd," Tenebrae said suddenly.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Perhaps my senses are deceiving me, but I detect the presence of Solumn's core nearby," he said.

"That's the Centurion of Earth right?" Marta asked him, "Why would that be here? This is the Temple of Ice."

"It does seem rather unlikely," Ichigo agreed.

"Yes, yes, like I said, perhaps it was just my imagination," Tenebrae stated.

When the party finally reached Glacies' altar it was bare. "Looks like Glacies' core isn't here," Emil said.

"Maybe the shop owner hasn't brought it back yet," Marta stated.

"Indeed, and if Kratos or Lloyd had come by this way I'd be sensing residue of their spiritual pressure, which I do not," Byakuya clarified.

"So now what?" Ichigo asked. Before he could get an answer though, a crack appeared near the ceiling of Glacies' altar. Ichigo looked up, "Is that…"

"It's a Garganta," Byakuya declared.

"A Garganta?" Emil questioned.

"It means we're about to have a little visitor from the other side," Ichigo turned towards Byakuya, "Let me take this one. You had your fun with the light frog."

"Hmph, fine," Byakuya took a few steps back near the door.

The garganta fully opened and a blue hollow, shaped like a spider, with an extremely large butt, emerged. It aimed to pounce on top of everyone from on high, but with a clean shot of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho it was silenced. "Piece of cake," Ichigo let Zangetsu rest on his shoulder.

"It's nice to know that even with the cores gone berserk that hollows are still able to naturally migrate to this world," Byakuya stated.

"How is that a good thing?" Ichigo asked.

"It means the world is still functioning rather normally. It may be disturbed to the point where any living being can see a spirit, but the link hasn't been severed unlike last time," the noble captain answered.

"I've been wondering this for a while," Emil said, "What are hollows?"

"They're spirits of the dead that long for a purpose they haven't completely fulfilled and have corroded into hollow empty husks of their former selves. As Soul Reapers it's our job to purge these creatures and let them move onto the next life with peace," Ichigo explained.

"It sounds like Soul Reapers are the balancers of the afterlife," Tenebrae stated.

"In a sense," Ichigo responded.

"Regal you've been awfully quiet lately, is something bothering you?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes, I believe we may have been tricked," Regal stated.

"Tricked?" Emil tilted his head.

"As president I've had dealings with the accessory shop owner several times on my own. That was not the man we met earlier," Regal stated.

"You think you could've said something sooner?" Ichigo asked.

"Just as Emil could not be sure that rosemary was not in fact in the Camberto Caves, or that you both could not be sure that seafood gels were the cause of the light frog attack, I had to be sure Glacies' core was not actually here. I'm quite sure someone from the accessory shop took Glacies' core as witnessed by Raine and Genis. However, whether or not they are bringing it back here is another matter," Regal explained.

"But then why lie to us?" Marta asked.

"I smell a rat and it's got the Vanguard's brand welded on its ass," Ichigo snarled.

"Then we need to get out of the temple and quick," Emil declared. Everyone agreed, but as they ran back towards the intersection they had reached earlier, Marta noticed something off to her left. She saw a man dressed in a long red coat, with a bald head, carrying a scepter of sorts. "Daddy?" Marta ran in the man's direction.

Emil soon realized Marta was not with the group, "Marta," he turned around. Suddenly, several Vanguard soldiers came running after the group from both directions.

"That figures," Ichigo grumbled.

"Hmph, they don't know who they're dealing with," Byakuya said with a dull expression. "Regal, Emil, Ichigo, either stand behind me or cling to the walls." The others did as they were told. Byakuya held up his sword, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." In seconds the Vanguard soldiers were out on the ground, bleeding from multiple lacerative wounds. Byakuya resealed his Shikai. "Pathetic fools."

"Ichigo what happened to Marta?" Emil asked him, panicked.

"I thought she was behind you," Ichigo said to the blonde.

"Both of you calm down, I can sense Ratatosk's core this way," Tenebrae said materializing in the direction everyone just came from. When they returned to the intersection though, a giant Ice wall blocked their path.

"Oh that's just great," Ichigo growled.

Byakuya put a hand on the ice wall, "Hmm, it's not SekiSekki, but it seems to be composed of reiryoku repellent components. The vanguard has done their research."

"Then what do we do?" I asked.

"Move," Regal said abruptly. He waved his hands around in a peculiar pattern, before linking his wrists together, hands shaped like bear claws. He turned his body and drew back his hands, still linked, at his side. The area around the others began to darken as Mana charged in between Regal's hands. "New Moon," Regal brought his hands forward, still locked together as powerful energy shot through his hands, creating an energy blast of proportions of which even the mighty Hado 88 would quake in fear of. "CANNON!" The ice while shattered in its entirety. Light returned to the rest of the area. No one, not even Ichigo, or Byakuya, knew Regal could do that. They caught a glimpse of it when the group travelled in Welgaia when they went to collect a fragment of mana, but that attack was nothing like this one.

"Holy crap!" Ichigo shouted.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Emil stated.

"I saw you launch an powerful blast once, but holy hell Regal what the hell was that?" Ichigo questioned.

"Please even this is nothing compared to some other techniques," Regal brushed off the dust from his jacket.

"You gotta be kidding me, you give yourself that much of a handicap?" Ichigo asked.

"Handicap?" Emil tilted his head.

"Regal only fights with his feet, never with his hands," Ichigo told Emil.

"How odd," Tenebrae said, "Why don't you utilize that kind of destructive power in battle?"

"I swore that I would never again use my hands as tools of death," Regal answered.

"Never again," Emil squirmed, "you mean…"

Ichigo put a hand on the young knight's shoulder, "Regal did what he had to do when he did it. His reasons were sound."

"What happened?" Emil asked.

"That's not important right now," Regal said. "Let us rescue Marta." Everyone agreed.

The group ran forward after Marta until they came to a large icy room. Unfortunately the first thing they saw was Marta being held up against the wall by Richter.

"Richter please stop!" Emil shouted.

Richter sighed. "Emil I didn't want you to see this."

THOCK!

Ricther's blade went straight into Marta's heart, killing her instantly. He took Ratatosk's core from her forehead.

"MARTA!" Emil ran forward, Ratatosk persona gone berserk, at Richter. "You bastard! How could you…how could you do that to Marta?"

There was suddenly a thunderous quaking of energy. Both Emil and Richter stopped their movements instantly. Emil turned his back towards his friends. He and Richter both looked in awe at Ichigo, thick black reiatsu surging from him. His aura reached the ceiling of the cavern. Ichigo scowled deeply and threw his sword out in front of him. "The gloves come off now," he said gravely. He extended Zangetsu out in front of him and put his left arm on his right elbow. "Ban-kai!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Someone's mad…or rather two people are. Okay I didn't get to the IchiSheena reunion this chapter. That'll happen next chapter. Richter, I hope you've written your will XD cause you're gonna get curb stomped). **


	16. Enter the Chief of Mizuho

**(A/N: Whoo boy. Ichigo and Emil are both severely pissed off. *shaking head* this is why you don't shank the main heroine Richter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3rd Person pov**

Richter looked on at Ichigo with anxiety. _What the hell…where's all this energy coming from and how can exude such a high output of mana?_

Ichigo thrust his sword forward, "Ban-kai!" Ichigo emerged in his Tensa Zangetsu form.

_What the…where'd Ichigo get such a power increase from? _Richter wondered.

Ichigo swung his sword down at an angle with tranquil fury. Part of the wall behind him caved in. "Sorry Emil," he apologized. "I should've done this the moment we realized Marta was missing. I'm always one step behind, always fighting without thinking. Well, I'm going to make sure that Marta is the first and only friend I'll ever have to lose. He charged straight at Richter and, before the red haired Vanguard soldier could blink, cut him right across the shoulder. He turned to face Richter with battle mad eyes. Emil charged and jumped at Richter from behind.

"Dark Radiance!" Emil slammed onto the ground creating a midlevel shockwave along the ground. Richter barely had time to dodge. He started to make a run for it, but Ichigo blocked the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked Richter.

"Through you!" Mana charged beneath Richter. "Negative Gate!" Ichigo was forced to dodge out of the way of Ricther's spell, but he kept pursuit on the man and chased after him. Aqua zoomed towards Ichigo and kicked him in the back of the head to give Richter more of a distance. Ichigo got up and continued to chase after both of them. Zephyr followed behind him.

Emil dropped to his knees in front of Marta's body. He was still in his Rataotsk mode. "Damn it!" He ground his hands into the ground. "If I was more powerful I could've stopped this! If I was always me I would've never let this happen!"

"You should take a good look at that before you start crying," A voice came from nowhere.

"Ah that voice," Regal seemed to recognize it.

In an instant, through a cloud of smoke, a woman with pineapple styled black hair, a large bust and wearing a brown battle garb, complimented with fingergless gloves appeared. "Sheena Fujibayashi at your service," she declared.

Another cloud of smoke. Emil couldn't believe his eyes as to who he saw. "And Marta Lualdi, the lovely beauty who rose from the dead!" Marta declared triumphantly.

Emil went back to his regular self. "Marta?" he stood up and ran towards her "Marta! Thank goodness you're safe!" he embraced her, rather happy that she was all right.

"I'm sorry for making you go through that Emil," she said to him softly, putting her arms around him.

"But if that's Marta then what's that?" Byakuya questioned as to the corpse on the floor.

Sheena snapped her fingers and the corpse transformed into a wooden log with shorter limbs to resemble legs, arms and pigtails. There were wilted, red flowers arranged about it, in a similar pattern to Marta's clothing. "It's an Igaguri ninja technique. Pretty good huh?" Sheena seemed pleased with her work.

"Damn that Richter, leading me right into an ambush. That bastard," Ichigo came growling back into the room. He was still in Bankai mode, but he had a few minor scrapes and burns.

Sheena gasped hardly able to believe her eyes. "Ichigo?"

Ichigo snapped out of his tantrum and picked up his head, "Sheena?"

"Ahahaha!" Sheena ran forward, gleaming with enthusiasm and ran towards Ichigo. The orange haired teen tossed aside his sword as Sheena leapt into his arms. Ichigo spun Sheen around as he caught her, "What are you doing here?" Sheena bounced on her feet looking up at the man she loved.

"That's my question," the perpetually frowning teen seemed rather happy at seeing his girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain later, but what got you pissed enough to take that form? And...did your outfit change?" Sheena asked.

"I'll explain that later. Right now…" he turned to see Marta and Emil standing side by side, Marta perfectly okay. He took notice of the log on the ground. Ichigo slid the duct of his hand in between his index and middle finger down Sheena's nose. "Do I tell you often how much I love you?" he asked.

"Not often enough," Sheena flirted. Both met each other's lips for a loving kiss.

Emil was wide-eyed, blushing like crazy. He had no idea Ichigo and Sheena had _that_ kind of a relationship.

Marta's reaction was rather different, "Wow, I should take lessons from her."

Ichigo and Sheena broke away. "Well since we both seemed to be involved in what's going on what exactly are you doing here and what's with the outfit?"

"I was going to tell you next time you got here. I'm the chief of Mizuho now," Sheena told Ichigo.

"Chief eh? Way to go," Ichigo complimented her.

"Okay, your turn, what's with the new Bankai outfit and sword," Sheena said.

"It's...kind of a long story. I'll explain it to you later," Ichigo told her.

"Hmm, all right. I'll hold you to that."

"And what exactly is the chief of Mizuho doing freelancing about the Temple of Ice?" Byakuya inquired.

"During the attack on Flanoir the accessory shop owner and his family was kidnapped. I was in the area so I tracked them down here. The vanguard with them," Sheena explained.

"What sort of business did you have in Flanoir?" Regal asked Sheena.

"Nothing official. It's just…"

"You were worried about Lloyd right?" Ichigo said with a serious gaze.

Sheena nodded. "From your expression I can tell you're already knee deep in all of this."

Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment, "Yeah, I'll give you the details later. Right now we need to get out of here."

"Well follow me then, we'll take the second entrance out of here. Hopefully the Vanguard hasn't discovered it yet," Sheena stated.

"Is that how we didn't run into you on the way in?" Emil asked.

Sheena nodded, "Yeah, you see I saw Marta surrounded by Vanguard soldiers so she and I fended them off."

"I recognized Sheena's outfit as a member of Mizuho so I asked her to make a carbon copy of me to trick the Vanguard. We later hid ourselves to avoid detection," Marta stated.

"I put a tracker on the fake core," Sheena stated. "When I was sure it was outside of the fake body's range I came to claim it. I didn't expect to find you guys though, least of all you Ichigo."

"Well it's a good thing you're here," Ichigo said, "Marta would've been dead otherwise."

"Anyway, Miss Fujibayashi, you said you had a second entrance to get us out of here?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah follow me," Sheena said.

"Ah, Ichigo, where's Zephyr?" Emil asked.

"Ah," Ichigo stared at the floor.

"Ichigo?" Emil was a little frightened.

"Zephyr and I got separated in the ambush," Ichigo said solemnly, "I-I don't know what happened to him."

"Well he's still alive, I can sense his energy level," Tenebrae said.

"Who's this Zephyr guy? And what the heck is that thing?" Sheena asked freaking out about Tenebrae.

"I am Tenebrae. Enchanted, I'm sure."

"Uh...y-yeah," Sheena stuttered.

"To answer your question Sheena, Zephyr is a bird," Ichigo said.

"A bird?" Sheena was confused.

"I swear I'll explain everything to you when we get out of the temple," Ichigo said.

"Well what should we do? Should we go after Zephyr or should we get out of here?" Marta asked.

"I…well…" Emil stared at the ground.

Suddenly a loud, airy cry came from an entrance into the room high above the ground entrance. A giant white and green bird, with large feathery wings flew into the room. "Well I'll be," Tenebrae chortled.

The large bird let out another cry and flapped towards the ground softly. It then cried again. The creature was about twice the size of everyone in the party individually. "Tenebrae what is this?" Emil asked.

"_This_ is a monster known as a Simurgh. It is a level four class bird type monster," Tenebrae stated.

"A monster? But why is it already so tame?" Marta asked.

Ichigo caught onto what was going on, "Zephyr?"

The Simurgh let out a responsive cry. "Oh wow, he's so beautiful," Marta admired.

"So he evolved?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, it must've been from fighting the Vanguard constantly. The battle experience seems to have had a benevolent effect on the fellow. What's more, Simurgh's are a wind type monster," Tenebrae lectured.

"Ah and I have Ventus' core," Emil realized.

"Exactly therefore Ratatosk can awaken quicker," Tenebrae stated.

"Ratatosk? The Summon Spirit that's the Lord of all Monsters?" Sheena scratched her head. "Is that what this is about?"

"Huh? You know about it?" Ichigo asked Sheena.

"Only a little," she said.

"Far be it from me to remind everyone, but the enemy is still swarming the area," Byakuya stated, "Perhaps we could have this conversation after we've escaped." Everyone seemed to be in agreement. Zephyr went back into his seal sphere and everyone shuffled off. Emil and Marta were the last to move forward.

Marta called out to Emil. "Thanks Emil for before." She stopped moving.

Emil did too and turned around, "About what?" he asked.

"Well," Marta said starting to squirm, "when you thought I'd been killed, you got really furious. I half expected you to be relieved that this annoying girl was finally out of your hair." She sounded sort of depressed by the end of it.

"I'd never think anything like that!" Emil cried out, "When I saw you get stabbed," he paused and then said, "All I could think about was how I never told you how I felt."

Marta was surprised and blushed slightly, "What?"

"I want you to forget everything I said earlier," Emil told her, also starting to blush, "From when you were telling me who I'm supposed to be. I don't really think that!"

"W-wait do you mean that you…"

Emil shook his head furiously, "N-no not like that," he was avoiding Marta's gaze, "It's just, I know I'm not the person you think I am, but—"

Marta cut him off, "No. You're wrong," Emil was surprised and looked back at her, "Sure, when we first started out together, I had it in my head that you were this all-powerful prince charming. But after a while I realized, you're actually scared of a lot of things."

Emil slumped forward, "I'm sorry I'm so pathetic."

Marta ignored what he said and continued on, "But that timid Emil is the one fighting for me with everything he's got, even though he never asked to get wrapped up in all this in the first place," she blushed heavily and started squirming around like an innocent maiden, "It touches my heart far more than a hero who fights without fear."

"What?" Emil was surprised.

"I think the real you is much, much cooler than the fantasy I had in my mind," Marta told him.

"Awww, isn't that cute," Emil and Marta heard Sheena talking in a cutesy voice and turned to see the Mizuho Chief and Ichigo standing together, arm in arm.

"Emil," Ichigo spoke up this time, "Isn't there _something_ you want to tell Marta."

"Eh…um…I…"

Marta shook her head, "It's okay. I'm going to go on loving you regardless of how you feel. You don't have to say anything."

_Rats!_ Ichigo and Sheena were disappointed.

"Anyway, you two are falling behind let's go," Ichigo told them both.

"Right, sorry," Marta said.

_Marta,_ Emil smiled.

The group continued on until they came face to face with Alice and the same blue haired man that Emil had run into at the Flanoir Church. "Well, well, well, how bittersweet to see you still alive Martmart, but on the bright side I get to see Berry Oniichan again so it's still okay."

"Alice, I've made up my mind to your proposal: my answer is no!" Ichigo pointed his katana at her.

"Oh, how interesting, you've changed your weapon. Although I do so miss your rather large trench knife blade. It's more you," she giggled.

"A-alice," the blue haired man was surprised.

"Decus, shut up and get them," Alice ordered.

"Y-yes my dear sweet Alice, of course," Decus stated.

"You really don't want to mess with me right now," Ichigo told Decus.

"Sorry, but when her darling ladyship Alice gives me an order I don't disobey," Decus drew out his large, two-handed sword and made to attack Ichigo.

In a flash Ichigo was on the other side of Decus, the vanguard soldier now had a large gash up the front of his torso. "You're slow," Ichigo told him.

While any normal person would've been frightened at seeing an ally of theirs cut down so easily, Alice was intrigued…possibly aroused. "Amazing."

Ichigo pointed his sword at Alice the blood staining the ground, "Alice get out of here unless you want to be next."

"Rawr, how fierce. I like that," Alice giggled. However, The small half-elf blonde though soon found a small dagger thrown at her feet. Several more accompanied it's assault around her…okay a lot more accompanied the first, as well as some shurikens, creating an outline of Alice's frame on the wall of the cave behind her.

"I'm only going to say this once," Sheena snarled, "BACK! OFF!" She shouted.

_This_, on the other hand, actually frightened Alice. "A-aramis!" The floating balloon-like monster came bouncing in and picked up Alice and Decus.

_Women are scary, _Emil thought to himself.

"Is she always like this?" Marta asked Ichigo.

"That's actually the first time I've ever seen her that upset," Ichigo said.

Sheena acted like nothing had happened and put away the weapons she had drawn out, "Let's go."

"What was that all about?" Ichigo wondered.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Sheena was marking her territory," Regal remarked.

"Huh?" Ichigo was confused.

"Ichigo, I believe that that girl…Alice has a sort of…attachment to you of sorts. I believe Sheena's actions were her way of sending the message that you were taken," Regal said.

"Funny, I've never seen her get jealous like that ever since were a thing," Ichigo said.

Marta had a plausible explanation, "Given that Alice is a sadist it's possible that Sheena did it to keep you from getting hurt. She's the type of person that needs to know straight out when she can't have her way."

"Well she certainly succeeded. I didn't even know she could do that," Ichigo said, "She's certainly improved."

"Will you guys hurry up," Sheena called from down the corridor.

"Coming," Ichigo ran to catch up with his girlfriend.

Eventually everyone got outside. "Ah sunshine, how I missed you," Sheena inhaled the fresh breeze. Sheena sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

"Huh?" Ichigo recognized it, "Aww hell it's that same scent from the church!"

"It smells like someone's attempt to take masculine fragrance and strengthen it to ludicrous levels," Regal stated.

"It smells like it's coming from Emil," Tenebrae said.

"What?" Marta and Ichigo were both shocked.

"It's not my fault," Emil defended, "It's that Eau De Seduction that guy Decus forced on me,"

"Eau de Seduction?" Regal questioned.

"You put that stuff on? That's so creepy," Marta brooded.

"Well I…"

"My apologies," Regal said, "I believe that's one of my company's products." This shocked everyone in the group. "I'll send word to the factory to halt production immediately. This odor is a menace."

_Just what sort of company **is **the Lezareno group anyway? _Emil wondered to himself.

"Well anyway, what's our next move?" Ichigo asked.

"Well I need to head back to Flanoir to make sure the accessory shop owner and his family made it back safe and sound," Sheena declared.

"We'll go with you then," Ichigo stated. "We could use some rest and I'll have time to explain to you what's been going on."

"Sounds good to me as long as it's all right with everyone else," Sheena accepted. No one had any complaints and the group headed off.

* * *

**Marta's pov**

Now that I knew that Emil actually cared about me a little I wanted to know what to do. When I saw Ichigo and Sheena making out I kind of wondered how they got to be so comfortable with each other. I needed to learn and I could only learn from the best.

"Say Sheena," I called out to her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's just, how did you get Ichigo to like you?" I asked.

Sheena laughed, "Looking for some tips to get with Emil huh?"

"Um, yeah," Marta admitted.

"Well I don't know what to tell you. I was the one to fall for Ichigo first. We were working with each other even before we were stable allies," Sheena stated.

"Really?" Marta questioned.

Sheena nodded, "Yup. When we first met we were actually bitter enemies, but eventually we became good friends. I don't know when I started to think of Ichigo like I do now, but when I started to I just wanted to be near him," Sheena's eyes started to gleam, "He's always frowning, but he's really a sensitive, nice guy underneath that scowl."

"Yeah, I've seen that," Marta smiled, "You two are a good match."

Sheena laughed happily to hear that be said by someone she'd only just met. "But really though if you want Emil to like you, then just be yourself. From the looks of it I think by the end of this journey, if you two are really destined for each other, he'll come around."

"Thanks Sheena," Marta said with a smile.

"Heh heh, any time."

* * *

**Emil's pov**

_I had no idea Ichigo had a girlfriend? Was that why he was always trying to get me with Marta? Did he see some of his relationship with Sheena in ours? Wait, _Emil shook his head, _why am I concerned about that…it's not like I think of Marta…like…that…but…I don't know…but I guess I'm just curious how Ichigo got someone like Sheena for a girlfriend…I mean…she is really beautiful. _I looked up over to him. "Hey Ichigo."

"Huh? What is it?" he asked me

"How did you get Sheena to be your girlfriend?" I asked.

Ichigo smirked, "Trying to see if my methods will help you get to Marta's heart?" he teased.

"N-no nothing like that, it's not like that at all," I flushed.

Ichigo laughed, "Relax ok? Although to be honest I figured you'd ask sooner or later," he put his arms behind his head, "To be honest I don't really know how it happened. All I know is that Sheena was the one who had an interest in me first and I guess I just got attached to her after spending so much time with her. She's a perfect mix of strong will and warm heartedness. I guess that's the one thing I like about her the most. But still," he let his hands drop down at his sides and looked back at me, "if you ever do find yourself feeling that you're head over heels in love with Marta don't resist that feeling." He put a hand on my shoulder. "You've already got that protective instinct like I do. Don't let go of it okay?"

I nodded with a big smile on my face. "Okay."

* * *

**Flanoir**

**Ichigo's pov**

Sheena conducted her business with the accessory shop owner and his family while I booked a reservation at the inn. I lay down on the bed and disengaged Bankai and put Zangetsu over by the desk. I smiled. I was happy that I had found Sheena on this trip. It was just like old times, the two of us travelling together, helping people. I remembered that I'd have to apologize to her about not showing up last year.

My train of thought was broken when the door opened. Sheena entered and shut it behind her. "Oh hey." I said and walked up to her. Sheena smacked me across the face. "Yeah, I probably deserve that." I said.

"Of course you do," she raged, "Do you know how worried I was when you didn't come by last year?" she sighed, "Still I'm just glad you're all right."

"Me too," I said. I dug my hand into my pocket, "I got you something." I gave Sheena the bracelet I bought back in Luin.

"Oh Ichigo, it's beautiful. Where did you get it?" she asked.

"I came here a couple of days ago, but I got wrapped up into this whole mess. I bought that beforehand as an apology present," I told her.

"Well your apology is accepted," she told me. She put the bracelet on. "I love it. So you said you'd explain everything to me about what's been going on," she said.

"Yeah," I confirmed.

* * *

**One Explanation Later…**

"I see…that's quite the tale. Still I can't believe Lloyd would do all those things," she said.

"Yeah me either, if he doesn't come around soon I'm going pulverize him into the ground," I said.

Sheena laughed and massaged my shoulders, "There you go talking big again, my big bad hero."

"Hey, I mean it. I'll kick his ass and Kratos'," I said.

Sheena laughed sardonically. "I know you do. So what's up with the new outfit?"

"That's gonna require even more time."

"I'm listening."

I sighed and began to explain

* * *

**One More Explanation Later...**

"Oh, I see...so that's what happened," Sheena said passively.

"I would've come here, but like I said, I lost my powers. Aselia isn't the safest place with monsters running around and that Tsukishima guy was causing a lot of problems."

"Well you're here now and that's all that matters," Sheena told me. Our lips drew near and I pulled Sheena's face to mine kissing her sweetly. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I put mine around her waist. I turned over and we fell down together onto the bed with me on top.

"It's been a while since we've been together like this," I told Sheena, looming over her.

"The last time I think was eighteen months ago," she said.

"You wanna go?" I asked her.

"No, I'm going to shove you off me and scream rape," she said sarcastically.

I laughed and then kissed the side of her neck just underneath her cheek bone. That was her turn-on spot as I had come to know. I reached for the lapels of her uniform and pulled it down off of her. I did the same to the other side, exposing her bra, which was dark green oddly enough. Sheena reached her hand up and pushed my Shihakusho off my shoulders. I reached my hand behind her back and undid the clasp on her bra. Sheena untied the sash around my waist and I did the same to the one around hers. I removed her bra and both of us then removed our outfits and my boxers and her panties followed. I positioned myself over her and kissed her soft mouth. I massaged her breast with my right hand and Sheena broke away and moaned. She looked at me with those soft brown eyes of hers. God I missed seeing her like this. She smiled. "Sheena." I kissed her again and then entered her. She moaned into the kiss. I broke away and then began moving in and out of her, hearing her moan constantly in line with my thrusts.

"Oh Ichigo," she gasped in pleasure. I continued to move as the pleasure built up for both of us. Eventually I withdrew from her and slid underneath her and entered her from behind playing with her breasts as I continued to thrust inside of her. Sheena moaned loudly and it was making me rock solid hard because of it.

I could feel myself getting close, "Sh-Sheena, I'm going to…"

"M-me too," she moaned.

"Let's come together," I told her. I quickened my movements and we both climaxed together our fluids mixing. I slid out of Sheena and we both began to let our breathing try and regulate. Sheena turned over and lay her hot body on me. "I'm so happy to see you again," she told me as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Me too Sheena," I said, wrapping my arms around her, "Me too."

* * *

**Omake**

**3rd Person pov**

"Emil!" Marta giggled walking by him.

"What?" Emil was caught off guard.

"Oh nothing," Marta giggled as she twirled away.

"I'm confused," Emil thought aloud.

"Emil, Lady Marta is indicating that she is happy," Tenebrae pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah I know that, but about what?" Emil wanted to know.

"She is pleased you were generally concerned for her welfare," Tenebrae pointed out.

"B-but that was…" Emil tried to defend his actions.

"As a man you must now take responsibility," Tenebrae informed him.

"Huh?" Emil was confused.

"Those who carelessly spark false hope in a young lady's heart are doomed to scorn and resentment," Tenebrae told Emil.

"Wh-who said I tried to do anything like that?" Emil shivered.

Tenebrae laughed darkly, "The world tends to side with young ladies. I urge you to proceed with caution."

Emil scowled, "Tenebrae you've managed to surpass 'spiteful' and graduate straight into 'malicious'."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yay Ichigo and Sheena are reunited and Marta and Emil seem to be getting off on the right foot and hooray on Zephyr's evolution too. Anyway I'm gonna take a small break from RotS for a while so I can concentrate on my Code Geass / Mirai Nikki Crossover fanfiction Ultimate Paradox. Also this coming weekend starts my spring break so production as a whole may go down regardless. Anyway I'll see you all later)**


	17. One Big Complicated Mess 2

**(A/N: Ok so I was able to get this out right before I leave for Zenkaicon. Hope you all enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

The next morning we all gathered around the gates of Flanoir to discuss our next move.

"I vote we keep on Glacies' trail if possible," Marta decided.

"Well you're in luck," Sheena said, "When I spoke to the shopkeeper he said that his son had taken the artifact to Meltokio to sell it to the nobles."

"Well we need to charter a boat to Meltokio then. Those people are in danger," I declared.

"I'll contact headquarters and we'll depart shortly," Regal declared.

* * *

**Meltokio**

We headed straight for the item shop upon arrival. We saw Tokunaga, one of Seles' butlers, coming out of it. However, we had no time for him. We went inside the item shop and Regal spoke to the person in charge. Unfortunately we made zero progress.

"What do you mean he won't tell you who he sold it to?" I asked.

"Merchants are bound to keep their customer's information private. Especially where high-price items such as jewels are concerned. If the wrong people found out who possesses such a priceless item, the buyer could become a target for theft," Regal explained.

"Who cares about the buyer? They shouldn't have their hands on it in the first place," I shouted.

"Calm down Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya said, "Regal, I believe you and I can approach this from a different angle altogether."

"It seems great minds think alike in these sort of situations," Regal smiled.

"What are you two planning?" Emil tilted his head.

"Most of the customers for fine jewels are members of the nobility. And they tend to show off their latest purchases," Regal explained.

"Ah good thinking," Sheena agreed, "We'll hobnob with the local aristocracy and find out which one has Glacies' core. Good idea, Regal. You never cease to amaze me."

"Let's head for the castle then," I declared. As we walked Emil seemed down. I called out to him, "What's bothering you now?" I asked him.

"You and all of Lloyd's friends are really amazing people," he said, "It makes me wonder about the Lloyd that you believe in. If it wasn't for the Centurion's core, maybe he'd even be an okay guy."

I pat Emil on the shoulder, "Trust me, whatever's got Lloyd to have a bug up his ass we'll fix him, even if it means getting physical."

"Ichigo," he seemed happy that I was so understanding.

With Emil in a better mood we headed up towards noble territory, but as we reached the castle Alice was waiting for us. "Ah Berry Onii-chan, Mart-Mart and Fuji-chan, how nice to see all of you." I realized that "Fuji" could only be in reference to Sheena's last name, Fujibayashi, which meant that Alice had attached Sheena to her bad list. That didn't surprise me in the least.

"What do you want Alice?" I asked her.

"The same thing I always want Berry Onii-chan," she pointed her riding crop at Marta's forehead, "Ratatosk's core!" There was a blinding flash of orange light and a bronze golem like creature appeared. It was ginormous. "Hellion! Crush them!"

"I don't think so," Emil shouted, already in full Ratatosk mode, "Zephyr, Terremotto, act on my command!" Both monsters appeared without Tenebrae having to be the one to call them out. Emil's synchronization with Ratatosk's power was becoming more and more close to perfection. The large Simurgh and Black Wolf launched their assault upon the large bronze creature. "Zephyr use Harmony Gale! Terremotto use Shadow Claws!"

Zephyr beat his wings gracefully and blasted Alice's monster, Hellion, with a fierce blast of wind. While the creature was knocked off balance, Terremotto came up and slashed it down the front. I held up Zangetsu above my head, seeing an opening. "Getsuga Tensho!"

Marta ran forward with her spinner as she spun like a ballerina, "Roaring Phoenix," she cut into the Hellion even further.

Sheena ran up to the monster next, "Gillain Seal!" she fired it at point blank range. Given the monster's size Sheena's attack didn't go anywhere except at the monster. The large creature toppled over.

"You lose Alice," I told her.

"Oh I don't think so," she pressed a button on the guard of her weapon. Hellion suddenly got up and grabbed Marta and Sheena with its massive arms.

"Sheena!"

"Marta!" Emil was out of Ratatosk mode, having believed the battle to have been finished. Zephyr and Terremotto had also been desummoned.

"I've rigged the little darling with a special collar that self-destructs if he gets defeated. Pretty clever, if I say so myself," Alice laughed.

"What the hell Alice?" I shouted at her.

Alice just looked at me crossly, "If I can't have you then no one will. Aramis!" she called for her ballon-cat thing, but I was not about to let her escape this time. Using Shunpo I got right in her space and knocked her to the ground using the flat end of Zangetsu and smacked her monster pet with my free hand. Alice was sent tumbling along the ground.

"Fix this! Now!" I shouted pointing my Zanpakuto at her.

"And why would I do that?" Alice asked crossly, sitting on her hands and knees, "Even if you decide to kill me it won't stop the self-destruct sequence," she started to get hysterical, "You're just going to have to accept the fact that your girlfriend is about to be blown to tiny little pieces."

"Ichigo," Sheena called out to me. She was being gripped so tightly she could hardly breathe. I just looked at her not knowing what to do. If I used Getsuga Tensho then Hellion might just blow up.

"I might be persuaded to let your girlfriend go if you're willing to join the Vanguard, Berry Onii-chan," Alice said, finally getting to her feet. "Just come with us and I'll let your friend go."

"I…"

Before I could answer I saw Tenebrae latch his tail onto Hellion's head, "Servant of darkness!" he shouted, "Obey me!" Hellion suddenly looked like he had been hive minded and dropped Marta and Sheena.

"N-no fair! That's cheating!" Alice stomped her foot.

Tenebrae carried Hellion with him high into the air. I suddenly realized where this was headed, "No! Tenebrae don't do it!" I shouted. He looked back at me and then I heard a beeping sound from Alice's weapon and watched as Hellion exploded, Tenebrae with it. "T-T-TENEBRAEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Well, well, certainly not the outcome I was expecting, oh well," Alice made to skip away.

I grabbed her by the back of the neck. "Do you think you're just going to get away with this?" I asked, severely pissed off, but repressing my anger.

"You could've...stopped it. If you had...joined the Vanguard then…"

"I am not joining the Vanguard!" I threw Alice across the ground.

Marta stood over her steaming. She kicked Alice in the stomach. "Alice, for what you did to Tenebrae, there cannot be forgiveness." She held up her weapon.

"So you intend to kill me Mart-Mart," Alice coughed, I could tell even from a distance that she was pretty roughed up.

"Death is not too good for my enemies," she said.

"Likewise," Emil hovered over Alice, back in Ratatosk mode.

"ALICE!" In a flash Decus came running up the street with a cloud of dust following behind him. He prompted knocked Emil and Marta out of the way before they could even blink. He grabbed Alice with one hand and charged towards me at a remarkable speed and swung his sword at me, practically shoving me off balance.

"Hey! Get back here!" I shouted only to get pounced on the head by Aramis, who I had totally forgotten about.

"Let them go for now," Emil said, still in Ratatosk mode, "We have more pressing matters to attend to. Revenge on those bastards can wait."

"And just what sort of matters are you talking about? Tenebrae is…"

"Still alive Ichigo," Emil said.

"Huh?"

"When Centurions suffer severe damage that they can no longer obtain a physical form they revert to being cores. If we go to the Temple of Darkness then we're sure to find Tenebrae," Emil said.

"Ok then, let's do that," I nodded my head.

"And what about Glacies' core then?" Byakuya asked.

"You and Regal can continue tracking down Glacies' core," I told Byakuya, "Sheena, Marta, Emil and I can go and fetch Tenebrae."

"Sounds like a plan. We'll come to find you if we find anything.

"Good then let's head out then," I decided. Emil agreed and raised his hand to the Sky, "Zephyr! Awaken!"

The large Simurgh appeared in a green blur of energy with a pure cry, "I've been wondering about this by the way for a while," I said, "Since when can you summon monsters?"

"Don't know, but all of a sudden it suddenly came to me how I can do that," he responded.

"It just came to you?" Byakuya asked.

"That's what I said, are you deaf?" Emil spat back.

"Hey, hey, language," I reminded him. I may not refer to Byakuya with honorifics, but I know better than to talk to a captain with that level of disrespect.

"You're one to talk," Byakuya reminded me.

"Whatever," I grumbled.

"Enough stalling can we just go to the Temple of Darkness?" Marta asked, getting irked.

"Yeah," I said and we all loaded up onto Zephyr.

* * *

**Temple of Darkness**

As we flew high above the sky on Zephyr's back, Marta started getting pissed off about Alice, "Damn Alice! How could she do this to Tenebrae? Next time I see her, I'm gonna tie her up and toss her butt into Flanoir harbor."

"You're too soft," Emil said, still in Ratatosk mode, "I'd sling a rope around her and hang her from the tops of the Fooji Mountains."

"I understand how you both feel," Sheena said to Marta and Emil, "but I can't say I approve of your choice of words. Harsh words are evidence of troubled minds."

Marta started talking sarcastically, "Ok then, then how about the next time I have the pleasure of a rendezvous with Lady Alice, I would truly enjoy the opportunity to politely wrap her up with ropes and kindly submerge her in the beautiful waters of Flanoir harbor!"

"That's not what she meant," I sighed in frustration.

We landed on the ground moments later and Emil called Zephyr back before summoning the Gremlin in his place. "Our friend her should be able to see inside the temple in case it's too dark," Emil said, "Also Gremlins are dark type monsters through and through so he should be able to hone in on Tenebrae's Mana signature."

"Since when did you become a buff on monster lore?" I asked Emil as we entered the temple.

"When I'm in Ratatosk mode it's like our minds our linked, my thoughts become his thoughts and his thoughts become my thoughts. It's strange, but it's true," he said.

"So what're we going to call this one?" I asked referring to the Gremlin.

"Who cares what we call it?" he asked.

"Wow…that's…unexpected coming from you," I said, "You always seemed to like the monsters having names."

"And what's the point? They're just the same tools regardless of whether or not they have names. There's nothing that separates one Gremlin from another besides its master," Emil responded harshly.

"Man the normal you and the Ratatosk you are as different as night and day," I exasperated.

"Quiet," Emil said and abruptly dismissed our Gremlin friend.

"What is it?" I asked.

Emil put a hand on his sword and we followed him down a flight of stairs and down a corridor. "I sense…I sense Aqua."

As we approached the end of the corridor we saw Aqua and Richter looking over Tenebrae's core form. "Hold it right there!" I shouted.

"Emil…and Ichigo," Richter folded his arms.

"You're not taking Tenebrae!" Marta declared with vigor.

"For someone who had to resort to a cheap trick in Flanoir, you seem pretty sure of yourself," Richter said smugly.

"Why shouldn't we be?" Emil said with a deviant smile, "You saw the level of power Ichigo wields with his Bankai. With him on our side there's no way we can lose."

"Oh of course," Richter flicked his hair and then in moments launched forward towards us. He swung at me with his sword and Emil with his axe. "Stop interfering Emil. I don't want to fight you."

"That's too bad, because I can't wait to kill you!" Emil roared. He drew back his sword and wildly swung it around. "Blade Fury!" Richter dodged out of the way. Emil ran after him "Dark Radiance!" Emil front flipped and let out a mid-powered shockwave, but Richter deflected it with ease. "Hmph, so you're that strong. Well then," Emil took a stance, the first time I'd seen him ever take one, "Try this on for size." Emil was standing in a left lead stance. His left arm was bent, parallel to his left knee. His hand was spread open in front of his chest and his sword was behind his back, perpendicular to his body. It flared with fierce amounts of raw mana. "Darkness Devours," Emil pivoted his body and launched the large blast of energy straight at Richter, "Ain Soph Aur!" There was a powerful eruption of energy. The whole temple shook.

"Emil you shouldn't use that kind of attack in a temple!" I warned him.

"Be quiet!" he shouted at me.

"Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" I shouted, but Emil ignored me.

The smoke cleared and Richter stood standing. He had taken quite a bit of damage from the attack. "Heh, you're tougher than you look," Emil retook his stance. "Looks like I'm going to have to hit you with another one."

Richter looked…saddened? "Emil…you're…I just can't believe it."

"Feh, I don't know what you're talking about," Emil grinned wildly.

"Emil, listen to me you must cease being a Knight of Ratatosk. If you don't…then I may have to…"

"Quit your pointless whining!" Emil shouted, "Die!"

"Emil!" I got in front of him, "Stop! You'll destroy the whole temple if you launch another attack like that!"

"Get out of the way Ichigo I know what I'm doing!" Emil shouted.

"No you don't! Wake up dammit!" I shouted.

"Ichigo," Richter said, his voice sounded back to being stoic, "Step aside. I can handle this monster."

"Heh, now that's what I like to hear," Emil smirked.

I just growled and Shunpoed out of the way, "You two are both crazy!" I shouted.

Emil attacked Richter again "Darkness Devours! Ain Soph Aur!"

Richter crossed his sword and axe over his body and stopped Emil's attack dead on center, "Repel in the name of the holy one Martel. Eternal Recurrence!" Richter swung in a Scorpion Sting kata fashion. Dense mana flooded in a wave back at us.

"Barrier!" Marta shouted to protect us as best she could from harm.

_How does…how does Richter have a prepared counterattack to Emil's arte?_ I wondered.

Suddenly the ground started to give way and we all began to tumble down towards the abyss. However I was spared from falling, and by Richter no less, who was riding on Aqua's back. "Why are you saving me?" I asked him.

"Because there's something you and I need to discuss," he said.

"Dammit you and Alice both!" I shouted. "I've had it up to here with making deals behind my friend's backs."

"I'm not going to ask you to make a deal. I'm going to give you some free information. As the closest one to Emil, from what I can tell, you're the only one I can trust," Richter said.

I said nothing in return. Aqua came to a stop eventually. We were on the upper floors of the Temple of Darkness.

"What's this all about?" I wanted to know.

"Earlier when I asked you to move out of the way. It was so you could see my counterattack," Richter said.

"So you've seen that arte before then?" I asked.

"Two years ago," Richter told me. "It's Ratatosk's arte."

"You…met Ratatosk?" I asked.

Richter ignored my question and just said, "Listen to me Ichigo, Emil's power as a Knight of Ratatosk is far too unnatural."

"Why am I talking to you about this anyway?" I asked.

"I thought you would care about someone you seem to treat like a younger brother," Richter said as he pushed up his glasses. He had a point. I stood silent and listened. "Emil looks like a friend of mine, a friend that's supposed to be dead. On top of that calling Emil a Knight of Ratatosk seems fishy to me," Richter stated.

"What do you mean?" I wanted to know.

"I researched Ratatosk, this is the first time I've ever heard of someone being his Knight," Richter said.

"Maybe the truth is concealed like with the Chosen Ritual," I said.

"It almost always is," Richter said sternly. "Listen, I'm not going to ask you to do anything for me, but I want to share with you my suspicions on the whole situation."

"Suspicions?" I questioned.

"I think that Emil…might actually be Ratatosk returning to power," Richter stated.

I started laughing. What Richter said was just so absurd. I mean, I've heard of wild mass guessing, but this was just ridiculous. When I stopped I noticed that Richter still had a straight face. "Wait, you're serious?"

"I hardly ever joke or kid," Richter said with a deadpan expression. He then added, "Once Emil and Marta have reawakened Tenebrae you can ask him face to face. I'm sure he knows something and just wants to hide it."

"Wait, how can you be so certain?"

"Sorry, I have to go, you're allies are headed this way," Richter took off with Aqua.

"Hey, wait!" I shouted, but he had already taken off.

_Damn it, what the hell? _So many questions were now running through my head most of which circling around why Richter told me all that and just how much truth there was to what he said. Something else that bothered me was the fact that I couldn't hear footsteps yet, but I could sense my friends. So how could Richter sense them like I could? I wondered if maybe Richter was a half-elf like Alice, or maybe he drew on his power from Aqua the same way Marta draws on hers from Ratatosk. _Wait a minute, _I realized something. There's no way Emil could possibly actually be Ratatosk. Ratatosk's core was on Marta's forehead. Still, I supposed there was no harm in asking Tenebrae what was what.

"Ichigo," Emil was back to his old self. He ran right up to me with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Richter just wanted to talk."

"Grr, I bet he was trying to get Ichigo to join the Vanguard just like Alice," Marta growled. I didn't feel like correcting her. I needed to keep the truth to myself, at least for now. I looked over to Sheena. _Maybe I'll tell her one on one._

I noticed that Tenebrae was ok, "Hey you all right?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said, "I am truly sorry for causing so much trouble."

"Is that all you have to say?" Sheena asked him, "Show some emotion," she started talking like one would talk to an infant, "Is old age making us a little grumpy?"

"How rude!" Tenebrae shouted, "I would ask that you not treat me like an elderly dimwit."

"Look he's getting angry, it's really him," Emil laughed.

"Yup," Marta hugged Tenebrae as one would hold a house cat, "I wouldn't have him any other way."

"Lady Marta please put me down," Tenebrae requested humbly. Marta did so.

"Well we need to head back to Meltokio," He looked at Sheena, "Mom do you think you could…"

"Mom?" Sheena and I were both confused.

"Oops," I'm sorry that just sort of came out, "I guess it's just cause you seem sort of Mom-like Sheena."

"You think I'm motherly," she said irritated, "Are you implying that I'm old?"

Emil got panicked, "N-no not at all. I mean, you're really kind and grown up and…I don't know sort of like the middle aged women that lived in my village."

He just dug himself into a deeper hole. It was comical to watch. "What?" Sheena, of course, didn't find this as amusing.

Emil looked at Tenebrae, "H-hey Tenebrae help me out here."

I snickered at Emil's unintelligible choice to ask Tenebrae for help as opposed to me. I knew Tenebrae's explanation would be…completely off the mark. "You see on some level," the ebony furred centurion started to explain, "Emil feels some form of attraction to you as a mother, and as we all know a powerful symbolism of motherhood is the breast. The young man is simply showing his appreciation for your ample bosom."

I bit my lower lip in anticipation of what I knew would result. I knew Tenebrae would come up with some completely irrational explanation, but I wasn't expecting that. Sheena flipped out, "I-is that how you've been looking at me y-you, you creep!"

Marta smacked Emil, "You jerk!" she hit him again, "You perv! How could you? I hate you!" She stomped away up the stairs to exit the temple. Tenebrae began laughing.

"That was obnoxious Tenebrae," I told him.

"I see reawakening you hasn't changed you much," Emil sighed.

"Wait you were fibbing?" Sheena was even angrier now.

"Of course he was. Do you really think Emil's the type to do something like that?" I asked.

"I…I guess not," Sheena calmed down.

"Come on," I put a hand on her shoulder and moved past her, "Let's go catch up with Marta."

As we approached her I decided to mimic Emil's voice, which I hadn't done in quite a while. "Marta, Tenebrae's lying," I said, "You're the only girl I care about anyway. I much prefer cute girls like you."

Sheena clasped her hand over mouth, observing this trying not to laugh. Emil's jaw dropped open that I just went and did that. Marta ran over to Emil and hugged him. "Oh Emil I knew you really again. Say it again. Tell me I'm cute."

"Uh…ummm," Emil was at a loss for words.

"Why is it you only say nice things when I'm really far away from you?" Marta seemed down.

_Wow she's completely clueless, _I said trying not to laugh.

Before the situation escalated any further Byakuya appeared at the temple's entrance. "Oh Byakuya, what's up?" I asked.

"Regal and I found out the identity of the buyer of Glacies' Core: Seles Wilder," Byakuya said.

"Isn't that Zelos' sister?" I asked.

"Well that shouldn't be much of a problem. Have you spoken to her?" Sheena asked.

"Regal said it would be best if I came and got Marta first. She could probably give the best explanation and with Kurosaki Ichigo there it would be easier to convince her and her brother, so we haven't even stopped by," Byakuya answered.

"Well alright then," I agreed, "Let's head back to Meltokio."

* * *

**Meltokio**

We used Zephyr to get back to the city just like last time. "You're becoming really good at this whole summoning thing Emil," Sheena complimented him.

"Really? Thank you," he beamed.

"I could teach you a thing or two if you want. I'm a summoner myself you know."

"But I don't want to become a klutz," Emil said with a sweatdrop.

"You wanna get smacked again?" Sheena asked him.

Emil just backed away with nervous laughter. "All right, all right, break it up boys and girls," I laughed. "Let's head to Zelos' place."

* * *

**Zelos' mansion**

We were about to head out the front door when there was a scream from inside. I threw the front door open. "What happened?"

"Oh, Sir Ichigo, it's you," Sebastian, Zelos' butler, said, "I'm not sure, myself."

Suddenly Tokunaga, Seles' butler, came running down the stairs, "Ah, you all, perfect timing. You must help us. Lady Seles was just kidnapped by Sir Lloyd!"

"Say what?" I was shocked.

"He just came in through the window just as I had presented Lady Seles with that jewel I purchased, nabbed them both and ran off," Tokunga said frantically.

"Damn," I cursed, "Let's split up and search."

* * *

**Emil's pov**

We split up into pairs. Marta went with Sheena, Regal went with Byakuya, and Ichigo, as the odd one out went alone. I went with Tenebrae. "Tenebrae can you sense Glacies' core anywhere?" I asked him as we ran together.

"I'm trying, but I'm getting interference from another centurion's core," Tenebrae told me.

"Lumen's? Lloyd has that so that's perfect," I said.

"No Solumn's," Tenebrae answered.

"Why would Solumn's core be around here?" I asked him.

"We can wonder about that later," Tenebrae told me.

"Agreed," I said. _Lloyd, _I thought to myself, _I don't care what Ichigo has said about you. The murders, the ignorance, you've changed, and you killed my parents. No one's around, so I won't hold back my anger this time._

I was running so fast I didn't even see where I was going when I suddenly crashed into someone. It turned out to be Zelos. "Whoa, excuse you, it's you."

"Zelos Wilder!"

"I never expected to see you in my neck of the woods," he said.

"We don't have time for that!" I told him, "Your sister's been kidnapped!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, slightly irritated.

"It's true, you have to believe me," I told him. I then saw, from over Zelos' left shoulder, a blur of red enter into my field of vision. It was Lloyd and he had a girl under one arm and Glacies' core in the other.

"Lloyd Irving!" I shouted rushing at him. Zelos followed suit with me. Lloyd stopped for a moment and turned to face me. "Lloyd I…

FLASH!

"I've been waiting for you," I rushed at Lloyd with my sword, but I missed and he took off at such a high sprint. "Damn it! Get back here!" I shouted, but I just couldn't keep up with him.

"You're saying that was Lloyd?" Zelos asked me.

"Of course are you blind?" I asked him.

"Psh, that wasn't Lloyd," I didn't know if Zelos was just being stupid or what, but I was not in the mood.

"You idiot! Your sister's been kidnapped!" I shouted at him.

"Don't get your britches in a bunch, kid. Lloyd wouldn't do something like that to Seles. That was not Lloyd," Zelos seemed adamant about denying what was right in front of his face. He started walking away.

"Hey, where the hell are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going home. If someone's gone to all the trouble of kidnapping Seles, I'm sure they left me some sort of message. You come too. You wanna see Lloyd, right?" Zelos asked me.

I growled, but I followed suit. Upon return back at Zelos' house the others were already back. However, they weren't alone.

FLASH!

"Rukia, Rangiku," I took notice of seeing them in the living room.

"Zelos," Rukia said, "Seles has been…"

"I know, Emil told me…"

"Did Lloyd really…" Rangiku seemed upset.

"No there's no way that could've been Lloyd. It may have looked like him, but Lloyd sure as hell doesn't smell like that," Zelos commented.

"Smell?" I questioned.

"Yeah, when we ran up to 'Lloyd' there was this horrible stench. I thought I was gonna pass out. Lloyd's never been the sort to wear cologne. And even if he was, he'd never put on something that putrid," Zelos stated.

"Cologne," Ichigo had an epiphany, "Wait, Emil what was that cologne that Decus forced on you?"

"What this?" I pulled it out of my pocket.

"Ugh, put that away, didn't you get rid of it yet?" Marta asked covering her nose.

"S-sorry," I apologized, "I guess things have just been so hectic I just forgot about it."

"That's it, that's the smell I noticed!" Zelos declared.

"Wait, if that's the case how can you be sure that scent wasn't coming from Emil all along?" Rukia asked.

"That's possible, but the kid and I walked all the way here from downtown Meltokio, if that stuff had been coming from him I don't think I would've made it all the way here," Zelos answered.

"So then you think it's possible Decus was disguised as Lloyd then?" Sheena asked.

"Mind filling us in as to what's going on?" Rukia asked, "I'd like an update."

"Same," Zelos said.

* * *

**One Explanation Later…**

"Ratatosk huh," Zelos said after we were done explaining, "Well judging from the smell I think there's a very good chance that this 'Lloyd' we saw was that Decus guy in disguise."

"Yeah that definitely sounds plausible," Ichigo agreed.

"I know that look," Rukia said, "You've come to a grand realization. Care to share?"

Ichigo nodded, "I kept thinking, ever since we encountered Kratos at the Temple of Fire why things never added up. Lloyd did heinous things, but then we have him just following orders from Kratos. What if, and this is just a theory for now, what if all of the crimes that 'Lloyd' has committed was just Decus pretending to be Lloyd and the real Lloyd we all well and know is doing as Kratos said, collecting the Centurion's cores and following orders. It's like Kratos said twice already: sometimes a puzzle comes with extra pieces. He knew, he knew right from the start that Decus was doing this."

"But then why not just come out and tell us that?" Marta asked.

"Probably to keep the rest of us from getting involved. For some reason Kratos wants to keep this problem between him and Lloyd alone. For some reason they're unable to trust us to help out," Regal stated.

"Martel," Ichigo said.

"What about Martel?" Sheena asked.

"I kept wondering how Lloyd and Kratos could be pulling this off without being turned maniacal. This is again just a theory, but it's possible that, as a summon spirit of the World Tree, Martel acts as a counterbalance to the power of Ratatosk. Emil, remember when Richter countered your Ain Soph Aur."

"Um, sort of," I said. For some reason that memory was kind of hazy. I hardly remember attacking Richter at all.

"Part of Richter's counter incantation mentioned Martel. If that's the case maybe Martel and Ratatosk are like two sides of the same coin," Ichigo deducted.

"That would make sense!" Rukia exclaimed.

"You know I'd love to be able to continue this rather interesting conversation," Zelos said, "but the more time we spend discussing this the more time the Vanguard has their hands on my precious little sister."

"Wow," Ichigo said.

"What?" Zelos snapped.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so focused," Ichigo stated.

"Whenever it concerns Seles I don't have time to mess around. My sister is the most important thing in the world to me," Zelos said.

"Hmm, even more than women?" Rukia teased.

"I would appreciate the lack of light hearted talk for the moment thank you very much Lady Rukia," Zelos said.

_Wow he's really serious, _I thought to myself.

"Well what do we do then?" Ichigo asked.

"I can sense the presence of Glacies' core headed to the east," Tenebrae said.

"The Cape Fortress?" Marta and Rukia announced at the same time.

"Rukia?" Ichigo looked straight at her.

"There's a base east of here I investigated before things got out of hand with the Vanguard and the Blood Purge happened. It's an underground facility located in a patch of ruins and transformed into a well prepped base," she explained.

"Can you show us the way?" I asked.

"Absolutely," she answered.

"Hmm, that's odd," Zelos suddenly said.

"What is?" I asked.

"It's just we've been here for a while, but so far, the Vanguard hasn't made any attempt to contact me regarding my sister's kidnapping. Which is why I suspect they've abducted Seles in order to get to Lloyd, rather than me," Zelos answered.

"Wait why go after Lloyd?" I questioned.

"Lumen's core," Ichigo answered.

"Yes they probably wish to trade Seles for Lumen's core and since we're all together that means all the cores that aren't already in their possession will be within their grasp," Tenebrae deduced.

"I'll just bet they have a trap waiting for us," Ichigo said bitingly.

"Most likely," Zelos said.

"They may also have a few hollows scattered about," Rukia spoke up, "They were keeping a few in cages and possibly performing experiments."

"If that's the case let's all go as a big group and split into teams when we get inside," Ichigo declared.

"That's a surprisingly good plan coming from you Kurosaki," Byakuya said.

"Hey," Ichigo was offended.

"It'd probably be best if we stuck at least one Soul Reaper in each group, just in case the other group run into them. Only Zanpakuto are efficient at purification," Sheena stated.

"Then here's what we'll do," Zelos said. "I'll go with Ichigo, little Lady Marta and Emil to get Seles. Lady Rangiku, Sheena and Regal can go in another group. That just leaves Lady Rukia and Captain Kuchiki to move as a dynamic duo."

"That's an interesting set up," Ichigo said.

"Look you and I need to be away our women so we can focus more on the task at hand. I'd split up the kid and little Lady Marta as well, but he's her Knight so that's a no go. Lady Rukia and Captain Kuchiki fight best when it's just the two of them and I trust you to have my back. Also in case Marta and Emil run into Lloyd you and I can tell if it's that Decus guy or not pretty easily. And since I didn't want our group to be too big I put Regal with Lady Rangiku and Sheena," Zelos explained.

"Wow you really thought this through, I'm impressed," Rukia smiled.

"Thanks," Zelos really was in a no nonsense attitude.

"All right, let's head out then," Ichigo declared.

"Agreed," I said and we all headed out the door.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Just to note to all of you. I did decide to bring my laptop with me to Zenkaicon, but I don't see myself doing much fanfic work while I'm there. If anything I'll just be answering messages. I'm there to enjoy myself, not spend my time answering messages…no offense. I do love hearing from all of you, but I have a life outside of the realm of fanfiction you know XD. Anyway please review and I will be sure to have something out soon after I come back from Zenkaicon. See you all later).**


	18. Lloyd Unmasked?

**(A/N: I started this chapter during some downtime I had at Zenkaicon. I had a blast. Also, please note that this week is going to be HECTIC for me so I will not be around much, not even to answer messages, until Thursday…actually even then I still have something I need to take care of. GAH! College is being mean ;_;. Anyway I shouldn't be wallowing in self-pity I should be letting you guys read the chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Upon arrival at the cape fortress we split up into groups and tore after Seles. We reached the bottom of a staircase, just Zelos, Marta, Emil, Tenebrae and me and stopped a moment to catch our breath.

"I hope Seles is ok," I said.

"If she's not I'll make sure the Vanguard pays with their lives," Zelos said snippily.

"I'm sorry," Marta apologized.

"I wish I could say 'it's fine, don't worry about it', but I can't," Zelos responded to her.

"Man do you have a split personality or something?" I asked.

"When my sister is concerned no one gets in my way," Zelos said.

"You and me both," I told him.

Zelos nodded in acknowledgement. "Still things are getting pretty damn terrible lately. My sister's been kidnapped, my bud's been impersonated and to top it all off I think I dropped my wallet on the way here."

"I knew it, you still can't resist being a comic," I chuckled.

"Hey I gotta do _something_ to keep myself from all this doom and gloom," Zelos responded.

"Sorry, about your sister Zelos," Emil apologized out of nowhere.

"Me too," Marta said.

"Why are you two sorry?" Zelos asked them. There was a pause. "Come on, now you're making me feel like the bad guy here. Cheer up. Lose those pitiful, depressing faces."

"But it's our fault," Marta said, "If not for us, Seles would be safe."

"Hey if anyone's to blame it's the Vanguard. Our mission involves retrieving the cores. It's not like any of us took part in planning out Seles' kidnapping," I said.

"Ichigo's right and no apology in the world will bring us any closer to saving my sister. If you really want to help, the best thing you can do is focus on the task at hand," Zelos told them, "I just want to save my sister. That's all. Making you two miserable is not my style. Understand?"

"Yeah," Emil nodded, actually looking brave for once.

"We'll do our best," Marta got psyched up.

"There, that's the spirit," Zelos seemed to be in a better mood himself.

"You are much kinder than one would expect," I didn't know if Tenebrae was complimenting Zelos or not, but I knew that this could only end badly. Rather than say anything though I just watched this train wreck itself.

"What? How can you gaze upon this beautiful face and this graceful figure and ever think otherwise?" Zelos struck a pose.

_Bad move, _I thought to myself.

Tenebrae returned with, "Ah, you'll have to excuse me. It would appear the standards of beauty between monsters and humans differ greatly."

"You know, you might make a nice piece of steak," Zelos shot back.

"Ok, break it up people," I clapped my hands.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Let's go," Zelos said and took off.

We ran further into the base and wound up at an intersection. "Great," I lamented, "Where to?"

"Tenebrae can you sense Glacies' core anywhere?" Marta asked.

"No, but…it's strange, I'm picking up Solum's core again," Tenebrae stated.

"Solum again?" I questioned. "We're about several hundred decameters from the Temple of Earth. How could you be sensing Solum?"

"I am…unsure," Tenebrae responded.

"Ugh this is getting us nowhere," Marta growled, "Ichigo, don't Soul Reapers have some ability similar to elves and half-elves to sense Mana?"

"We can sense reiatsu, but it's sort of the same thing, why?" I asked.

Marta looked at Zelos, "Does Seles have any combat ability?"

Zelos sighed, "She does, why…oh I see…" he caught on. "Ichigo, can you find my sister?" he asked.

"I'll try," I said. Ever since my battle with Aizen I was much better at sensing reiatsu, but still not as efficient as most. I had to close my eyes and I had to be able to concentrate. I pictured Seles and tried to locate her. I had a hard time pinpointing her location, but that's when I picked up a different surge. _Lloyd._ His reiatsu was clashing with one I didn't recognize. I would've easily been able to tell if it was one of my nakama. I smirked, _you…really haven't completely changed, _I got a serious, brave look, _I'm glad. "_This way!" I ran in Lloyd's direction. If he was fighting the Vanguard then he was on his way to save Seles. The Vanguard wanted Lloyd to make an exchange for Seles. We find Lloyd. We find Seles. Simple logic.

We kept running until we saw a mob of Vanguard soldiers. Marta noticed a weapon storage room to our left and we all ran inside it for cover. "That was close," she sighed.

"So fill me in Ichigo," Zelos spoke up, "Exactly how useful is this tyke going to be in helping us save Seles."

Marta got offended, "Hey!"

"No I don't mean you Marta dear, I was talking about our little daydreamer over here," he looked at Emil, who as far as the point Zelos was trying to make was concerned, really hadn't done much.

"I'm sorry," Emil apologized.

"Jeez kid," Zelos said to Emil, "I don't know how you can be such a limp noodle with this lovely little lady fawning all over you like she does."

"Hey," Marta grabbed hold of Emil's arm and pouted, "I won't let you talk about my knight like that!"

"Whoa kid," Zelos gave Emil a hearty slap on the back, "For a dim bulb you sure put on the moves quick."

"N-no," Emil said flustered, "It's not like that."

"I-It's not," Marta backed off of him angsting.

"What no…I mean…"

Since mimicking Emil would prove fruitless with Marta staring him in the face, I just decided to clear up the misunderstanding, "He means he hasn't put any moves on you," I told Marta, "You just naturally find Emil to be charming."

Marta blushed and giggled like a little school girl, "You're right about that," she said swaying back and forth with her hands behind her back.

"Ah there's nothing like young love," Zelos sighed.

"Yeah," Marta turned towards Zelos and then started going off on one of her romance tangents: eyes sparkling and hands clasped together, "Still I wish I could be in a mature relationship like Raine and Byakuya."

"What's so great about that?" Emil asked and started taking an angered mocking tone, "You have meddling in-laws. You're so poor you have to share a tiny piece of bread between the two of you. Or you're so cold you have to huddle under a single blanket to ward off the cold." The complete irony of the whole situation was that everything pouring out of Emil's mouth seemed to be turning Marta on.

"Ah! That's so romantic!" she squealed.

"I was trying to be funny," he said with a nervous smile.

"And honestly I don't think Professor Sage and Captain Kuchiki would have that sort of issue," Zelos added. "In any case, if comedy hour is over let's go after Seles mmkay?"

"Works for me, though I think you seem a little less tense having had this cool down moment," I said to him. Zelos just shrugged and we continued forward. We reached a wide area only to find a very odd scene.

Lloyd was fighting his doppelganger. "Two Lloyds?" Emil questioned.

"Then one of them really is Decus," Marta cried out.

"Decus would be wearing his Eau De Seduction," Emil deduced.

"Sorry, but that stench is so overpowering I can't tell, which one it's coming from."

"And Lloyd's reiatsu is leaking all over the place I can't tell who's who," I declared.

"Then what do we do?" Marta asked.

Suddenly the two Lloyds weapon locked and the Lloyd on our left knocked the Lloyd on the right away. I took notice of the Exsphere on the left hand of the Lloyd that was knocked away. The Lloyd on the left signaled to us. "Come on! Give me a hand! Help me defeat this fake one once and for all!"

"Don't be deceived!" The Lloyd on the right shouted, "He's the imposter!" The resumed their combat and that's when I noticed something interesting during the clash. Both Lloyds had an Exsphere on their left hand, but one of the Exspheres was a different color than the normal blue. I took a glance at the Cruxis Crystal on Zelos' chest.

_Bingo!_ I declared. I waited until the two Lloyds were separated again. One Lloyd stood triumphant over the other as the defeated Lloyd was crouched down on one knee, growling in frustration.

"Damn it this is ridiculous!" he shouted.

"My comrades," the other Lloyd shouted, "I trust all of you! I know justice will prevail and that you will make the right choice!"

_Justice?_

* * *

Flashback

"_Don't even start spouting the word justice!"_

_End Flashback_

* * *

_Yeah,_ I said to myself, _that's definitely not Lloyd._

"Ichigo what do we…" I walked away from Emil and the others midsentence, "Ichigo?" I walked over to the Lloyd crouched down on one knee. "Need a hand there pal?" I offered him my hand and helped him to his feet.

"Ichigo, you're choosing that fake over me?" the other Lloyd asked.

I turned sharply and held my sword up high. "The only fake here is you! Getsuga Tensho!" The other Lloyd went flying at crashed through a pillar. From out of the rubble emerged not Lloyd, but Decus.

"Decus! I can't believe it! Then you're the one responsible for attacking Palmacosta and destroying all of those cities?" Marta cried out.

"Ah crap so you found me out," Decus gasped.

"Wasn't hard to figure out," I said, "You do a shitty job of impersonating my friend here."

"Wait Decus you mean Daddy ordered you too—" she clasped her hands over her mouth to shut herself up.

"Daddy?" Emil looked at Marta, "Marta what are you…?"

"Oh I see," Decus said smugly, "You didn't tell them did you? Yes, of course! If you did, you wouldn't be able to stay with them."

"Go ahead and spill the beans then," I declared, "No matter what the circumstances two things will still hold true. Marta will remain our comrade and you're going to get a long overdue beating."

"Oh my my," I heard Alice's voice, "I do believe violence like that is my forte Berry Onii-chan." She walked in with her weapon in one hand and holding Seles, with her arms tied around her back in the other. "But since you said you won't care either way, our little Martmart here is the one and only daughter of the great Commander Brute, leader of the Vanguard."

"So what?" I asked, "That just gives what she's doing all the more meaning. Who better to stop such chaos from spreading than the daughter of the man creating it?"

"Such moral high ground Berry Onii-chan," Alice complimented, "But of course morals won't do you much here," she indicated Seles.

"Alice don't do anything you'll regret," I told her.

"Oh I won't regret anything at all." She stuck the tip of her weapon under Seles chin and smiled like a devilish cat. "I just love breaking the arms of cute little girls like you."

"Why you little bitch," Zelos scowled.

"Long as I win," Alice giggled.

Decus, while jitterbugging about said, "Yeah! You better not badmouth my precious little Alice, or you'll have to answer to me!"

"Decus, shut up," Alice told him, averting eye contact from him completely. She then looked at us with innocent eyes, "Now be good kids and hand over your cores and weapons. Martmart can bring them to us."

"Why are you doing this? What do you want with the Centurions' cores?" Emil wanted to know.

"Yeah, what possible constructive use for the Vanguard have for such power?" I added.

"We only really need Ratatosk's core," Decus said while gyrating, "Commander Brute wants the rest for his little collection."

"Decus! Stop answering their questions!" Alice raged at him.

"Ah, sorry my dear Alice," Decus bowed to her.

"Now then Martmart, the cores if you will," Alice looked at us.

"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" Six rods of light slammed into Alice's midsection and Byakuya appeared. Sheena appeared in the next instant, next to Seles and grabbed her and passed her off to Colette, who must've come here with Lloyd I could only assume, tossing the poor red-haired girl like a football. Colette floated Seles to Zelos and let her down gently.

"Hado 33: Sokatsui!" Rukia hit Decus with a powerful blast and Decus was knocked off his platform only to be hit with a powerful kick to his back from behind by Regal.

"Someone call for some heroes?" Rangiku-san announced.

"Heh, kept us waiting to the last moment I see," I teased.

"Hey coordination like that takes perfection, besides you seemed to have things well under control up until just a moment ago," Rangiku-san told me. I just smirked. Alice broke free of Rikujokoro and started running. Lloyd and several others pursued her. We tried to follow, and by we I mean Marta, Emil, Zelos and me, but Decus barred our path.

"Not so fast. Don't interfere with my Alice. I'll protect her no matter what!" Decus declared.

"You're gonna stop us?" Zelos laughed, "Please, you can't even put on cologne without screwing it up! Ichigo knock this guy out the way for us. I have an asskicking to deliver and it's got Alice's name on it."

"No problem," I told him. I thrust my sword out in front of me, "Bankai!" I emerged in Bankai form. Decus never even saw me coming when I attacked him from three different angles. He hit the dirt panting. "You guys go on ahead if you want," I said. Only Marta and Zelos ran ahead. Emil and Tenebrae stayed with me. I walked over to Decus who had three nasty lacerations because of me. Four if you include the one from back in Flanoir. "Tell me Decus," I told him, "How does it feel to have karma finally catch up with you?"

Decus let out a frustrated, enraged growl and lunged at me. He moved fast enough to force me to block as opposed to dodge. "Kurosaki Ichigo, finally I can face you for real."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I didn't want anyone else to be involved in our personal bout. Marta's knight doesn't count," he leapt back. "Do you remember that time long ago, when you saved Alice?"

"Vaguely," I told him.

"I was there, I was her unconscious friend. We'd been travelling together for a while," he explained. "I tried to protect Alice and you succeeded where I failed and since then Alice has only ever looked at you. It makes me sick."

"That's what this is about? You want Alice to like you? Look Decus you can have her. I already have a girlfriend," I told him.

This only seemed to enrage Decus further, "So what are you trying to say that she's not good enough for you? Kurosaki Ichigo, here and now I will defeat you," he lunged forward, "And I will prove to her that I am the only one worthy of protecting her."

I don't know how Decus got stronger and faster simply from being enraged, but it wasn't enough that I couldn't see his movements. I parried his first strike and sliced him up the middle. I then delivered a wide cut across his abdomen. "And I cannot forgive," I told him, "Impersonating my friend and making him out to be a criminal. Murder is one thing, but you made me have doubts about the good nature of one of my best friends. For that there can be no forgiveness." With just a simple flash wave of reiatsu I sent Decus flying back and then held up Tensa Zangetsu with two hands. "Getsuga…Tensho!" My attack went rocketing towards him. When the dust cleared though Decus was fine, having crashed on his ass, but in front of him was Richter.

"I'll handle this," Richter said, "Go."

"Yes, thank you!" Decus ran off.

"Richter, what the hell?" I shouted.

"Ichigo, you are the Vanguard's enemy now. Is it so surprising that we would face each other in combat?" Richter asked.

"But what about all that stuff you said at the Temple of Darkness. You told me that—" I bit my lower lip realizing Emil was still here.

"Ichigo?" he called out. I kept silent.

"I told you before though, Ratatosk is my enemy. I decided if you would defend and assist his allies then that marks you as my enemy as well. I won't ask for forgiveness. Curse me from hell instead," A dark aura surrounded Richter. He ran towards me at a ridiculous speed. He was faster than Decus, much faster. I could barely block.

"Dark Demon Fang!" A midnight black energy wave came rocketing towards Richter and me. The firer was Emil. "Ichigo, let me assist you," he said.

"Yeah," I nodded and the two of us leapt back and stood alongside each other.

"Two on one hmm?" Richter mused.

"Who said it was only two?" Emil asked. He held out his hand in front of him. "Zephyr, Athenos, Terremoto, and Raziel. Appear and do my bidding." The monsters Emil summoned appeared. It seemed Raziel was in reference to our Gremlin friend.

"That won't help you much. Aqua!" Richter called out. In an instant four monsters appeared. One was a giant Black Tortoise that had a glistening armored shell with red spikes. One was a gray monster fish, like something out of a jaws movie only with a mutant shark. A blue dragon-like monster with three heads and a large worm-like creature with a whale shaped head.

"Oh my," Tenebrae seemed intimidated.

"What is it Tenebrae?" I asked.

"Those are powerful water monsters: A Darksteel, a Jaconius, a Hydra and an Island Worm," he explained.

"No sweat," I said, spinning my sword, "We can take 'em." While our monsters clashed against Richter's and Aqua's, Emil and I fought against Richter. Somehow he was fast enough to stay on par with my Bankai, when before I had gotten him before he could blink. Richter's sword traded blows against mine and his artes deflected Emil's as sparks flew and reiatsus clashed. Every swing I made was either countered by his sword or axe. It's like he knew what move I was going to make, before I made it. _Just what is this power? _I wondered.

Suddenly a pulsing sensation ran through me. A slash came cascading down diagonally along my shoulder, but I was not cut, more like paralyzed. Emil was blown back by this same sensation and all our monsters seem to be frozen in place and Richter's desummoned. "This will be over soon," Richter said as he threw his axe on the ground sending out a matrix grid of dark energy. "The pain will only last an instant!" He held his sword above his head with both hands and disappeared. I felt myself get cut down and then up my body. Richter then kicked me aside. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Emil take a massive beating of sword slashes. Richter then reappeared and held his sword to the sky. "Towering Inferno!" A surging burning sensation ran through my body, as if I was engulfed in a pillar of fire. Much of my Shihakusho was blown away and I was left lying on the ground, unable to move, but the pain was numbed. Like Richter said, it would only last an instant. I watched him pick up Emil and choke him. _No…dammit stop…stop it. _Emil put his hands on Richter's and struggled. Richter took a step back and let Emil go and then he left. I felt so weak right now. I could barely move.

Emil ran over to me. "Ichigo! Are you ok?"

"I've been better," I told him.

"Boy you look like you've seen better days," I heard Rukia's snarkiness.

"Very funny, mind helping me out here," I asked her.

"Well I would, but it's nice to see you in such a pathetic position for once," she snickered.

"Now is not the time for jokes Rukia," Sheena said to her, "Help him."

* * *

**One healing later**

"Is Seles okay?" I asked after having been healed and powered down to Shikai form.

"Yes, I'm unhurt," she said.

"She doesn't look well at all," Rangiku-san said, "We should get her home straight away." Everyone seemed to be in agreement.

"Hey Lloyd," I called out to him, "I wanted to talk to you about…"

"I have nothing to say," he said walking forward.

"All right that's it!" I shouted, I grabbed hold of him by the throat and held him up against a wall. "I'm sick of this crap Lloyd! We already know that Decus was the one committing crimes in your name. All you've been doing is going after the cores with Kratos. Stop acting like a jackass and let us help you!"

"Fine," he closed his eyes. I put him down. "We can work together." I saw Lloyd reach for his sword and instinctively reacted by drawing mine and blocked a swing.

"WHAT THE HELL LLOYD?" I shouted.

"I said we could work together, and you can start by giving all of your cores to me," he stated.

"What did you just say?" I scowled, gritting my teeth.

"You heard me," he said, "Hand over the cores right now!" he declared.

"Lloyd this isn't like you!" Sheena shouted.

"Lloyd, why? Surely there's some reason you've behaving this way," Regal said.

"There's nothing I can say for now," he said.

"So you just expect us to trust you and wander off on your own with your old man? Have you lost your mind?" I asked him.

"Maybe I have," he taunted.

I gripped the handle of Zangetsu and squeezed my eyes shut and then spoke with a resolved tone, "So that's the way you want it then is it? Fine with me," I assumed battle stance.

"Ichigo are you nuts you've only just come out of healing. You need to take it easy," Rukia told me.

"I don't care!" I raged, "I'm going to find out the answer while it's staring me in the face one way or another!" I thrust Zangetsu out in front of me, "No matter the cost," I flared my reiatsu, "Ban-kai!" I emerged in my Bankai form. "Tensa Zangetsu." After I emerged I noticed my vision being a little hazy. _Just gotta hold myself together for a short time. I won't need long. _I pressed my fingertips over my face. "You always wanted to face me at my full strength. Well here's your chance," I summoned my mask. "You've got the opportunity right now." I charged. Lloyd barely had time to evade.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Everyone watched as Ichigo and Lloyd duked it out. Ichigo was by far more powerful and faster, leaving Lloyd no time to make any counterattacks. Every block he made was replaced by another attack from Ichigo. Every parry he delivered was quickly replaced with a well-guarded defense or block before he could make good on it.

"I don't even know who to cheer for," Rukia said.

"Rukia?" Emil turned towards her.

"Ichigo is so desperate to get Lloyd to come to his senses that he's fighting him at that level of power knowing that he's severely pushing himself. The strain on his body hasn't completed healed from his battle with Richter. Lloyd…I…I want to believe he's doing the right thing. If he's not responsible for all the crimes he's been charged with then it just pains me to see two of my closest friends fight like this," Rukia explained. "I'm worried."

Ichigo and Lloyd locked weapons and then broke away. Ichigo was reaching the limit of the time he could use his mask for and Lloyd was already panting. Neither had drawn blood on the other. _I'll end this one blow._ Ichigo thought to himself. He took a high stance. "Getsuga Tensho!" The powerful moon fang erupted towards Lloyd. Cries of both combatant's names could be heard across the members of the group. However, only one combatant moved her feet to stop the attack. She moved to get in between Lloyd and the Getsuga. Lloyd went wide-eyed when he saw who protected him, as she used her chakrams and angelic powers to save him.

"C-Colette?"

Ichigo's mask shattered.

Colette began to fall forward. Lloyd caught her. "C-Colette, wh-why did you do that?" he cradled her.

Colette didn't answer him and just said with a big smile, "You're not hurt," tears welled up in her eyes, "Good." she passed out.

Lloyd tensed as he held Colette, resolve to fight shaken, but anger building up inside him. "Proud of yourself," he looked at Ichigo sternly.

Ichigo went to Shikai, "No, Lloyd, I…" he reached towards him. Lloyd ran, still holding Colette and headed to leave.

"Colette!" Sheena ran to retrieve her from Lloyd. Zelos grabbed her shoulder.

"Relax Sheena," he told her, "Colette will be okay. They're on the same team now."

"Chosen?" Byakuya looked at him.

"What? I can't be the only one who thought our little cutie Colette might have gotten something from Lloyd when she finally tracked him down was I?" Everyone was silent. "Boy do I feel smart. Yeah…so, our cute little Colette found my bud shortly before both of them arrived here. She's teamed up with him and his old man. She was just about as forthcoming with information as Lloyd, but at least she was nice about it."

"Have you calmed down?" Rukia asked Ichigo as he walked towards the rest of the group.

He nodded. "Yeah," his scowl was softer, "It's good to know that Lloyd and Colette are together," he looked back towards the exit. "The fact that he came to help Seles and the fact that he's let Colette team up with him show that he hasn't completely changed."

"Yeah. And given time staying silent will be impossible for a guy as trusting as Lloyd, especially since he's already leaked information to Colette," Zelos stated.

"It's like that old saying...ah how does it go again?" Rukia scratched his head.

"Three can keep a secret if two are dead?" Regal asked.

"Yeah, that," Rukia said, "And considering that's not going to happen ever that secret's not gonna be a secret eventually.

"Agreed," Ichigo nodded his head.

Rangiku stretched, "Man I'm tired, what's say we head back to Zelos' place and discuss what to do next?" Everyone was in agreement.

* * *

**Zelos' mansion**

**Ichigo's pov**

It was decided that Rukia and Rangiku were going to go back to Soul Society to give their report on the current standing of things. Rukia, who still had her giant rabbit with her, was taking it with her. I had the feeling that whatever the issue was with it, she and Byakuya must've worked things out while they were together. Zelos decided that he was going to sit back and wait, trusting Lloyd enough to know what he was doing. I decided that I still felt that Emil and Marta's way of doing things was still better so I was still going to continue journeying with them. Byakuya decided to stick with us to continue to keep tabs on the group for the sake of the mission. Sheena was still interested in Lloyd's reasoning and especially concerned about Colette and Regal was also concerned about Lloyd himself. Still, we were all really tired and since we knew that Lloyd was just being a jackass, and not actually a criminal, felt comfortable in taking a load off, especially since Seles was already taking a nap and we couldn't ask her for Glacies. Zelos hadn't even had proper time to explain things to her.

While I was resting in my room, thinking about things, there was a knock on my door. "Come in." It was Sheena. I sat up. "What's up?"

"Are you ok?" she asked him.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," I said.

She chuckled to herself, "I'm such idiot. You're not the type of person who would answer that question with a 'no'."

I sighed, "What's bothering you?" I asked her.

"It's just…that power you used to fight Lloyd, that's the same power you used to fight Volt wasn't it. You know, when you felled him in one blow."

I nodded, "The same power indeed."

"Why did you use that against Lloyd?" she seemed concerned for the both of us, "Rukia said you were putting unnecessary strain on your body. Why would you do something like that?"

"Because Lloyd is being a complete and utter jackass and can't even trust his own nakama," I grumbled getting up off the bed. "I had hoped that with the matter of Decus solved he might come forth with information, but he's being a complete, thick headed baka. I just don't get it. I want to know what Kratos said to him to make him act like this or if he just changed like this all on his own." I slammed my hand against the dresser behind me. "It's so damn frustrating."

"I know someone we can ask," Sheena stated, "but it would involve leaving the group."

"Where do you want to go?" I asked her. "I'll carry you if I have to, or I'll ask Emil if we can borrow Zephyr."

"To the Martel Temple. There's someone I want you to meet," she told me.

"All right, the Martel Temple then. Got it," I said.

"Meet you outside," she said and left the room.

I grabbed Zangetsu from the corner of the room and headed made for the door. _I wonder what Sheena wants to show me at the temple. _I sighed, _I suppose I'll just find out when I get there._

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: This is one of my favorite non-fluff, non-extreme action chapters. It's like my favorite plot-development chapter that I have written thus far. I'd write more, but I am extremely tired. Like I said at the beginning my week this week will be horrible. I will only have chances to answer messages early in the morning and until Thursday my amount of free time is equal to 0. I will see you all later. Sincerely, Draconichero19)**


	19. True Partners? The Test to Confirm

**(A/N: I seriously must have divine favor. I had so much shit to do this week and then I'm cut a break by my public speaking professor telling us class is cancelled and presentations are being delayed two days. So I've got a little more free time than I originally would have had. So I used my breaks to write this chapter. Enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I walked outside the room and went to go find Emil who was lying down on the couch. "Hey," I called out to him. He sat up.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just need to ask you for a favor," I said.

"A favor?" he questioned getting off the couch and rising to his feet.

"Yeah, I need to borrow Zephyr for a little bit. Sheena and I are going to the Martel Temple for a bit, we'll be back before tomorrow," I told him.

"Can I come too?" he asked.

"Sorry, this is something that's just me and her," I told him. I peered over Emil's shoulder and through the transparent sliding glass door that lead to the garden. I saw Marta out there by herself. "You should use this time you have to your advantage."

"What do you mean?" he was confused.

I didn't feel like pushing if he wasn't going to bite so I just said, "You'll figure it out, I'm sure," I told him, "So can I borrow Zephyr?" I asked.

"I suppose," Emil said and smiled, "You and Sheena make a good match Ichigo, I'm glad you have someone like her to always be there for you."

"Thanks," I said with a grin.

* * *

**Martel Temple**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Emil let Sheena and Ichigo borrow Zephyr and the two took the large Simurgh to the Temple. The majestic creature landed right at the temple entrance.

"So who exactly are we meeting here?" Ichigo asked Sheena.

"A friend of mine," she told him.

"A friend?" he asked.

Sheena nodded, "Yeah, someone very close to me and he now lives in this temple."

"Someone…close to you?" Ichigo questioned.

Sheena got flustered, "I-It's not like that at all," she quickly added, "Look you'll understand when we meet him." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "Come on."

Ichigo followed Sheena into the temple and to the seal room. He noticed a bizarre, flashing wall section with different colored characters scrawled onto it. Sheena walked up to it and put her hand on it. Like a ripple in the water the wall dissipated, revealing a tunnel. She urged Ichigo to come with her and they reached another seal entirely.

"So you have returned Sheena," a spiritual voice called out. Suddenly, on top of the seal platform, mana began to gather and a large fox-like spirit with blue tails, pink paws, wreathed in blue flame, yellow body fur, and a green back, appeared. "Ah and you've brought him this time with you I see."

Sheena nodded. "Yes," she turned towards Ichigo, "This, is Verius, the Summon Spirit of the Heart."

Ichigo looked at the fox-like creature with a puzzled gaze, "Is it just me or does he look like…"

"Corrine, yeah you're not mistaken. Verius is…Corrine's reincarnation."

"Are you serious?" Ichigo was in awe.

"It was about a year ago when Sheena and I were reunited," the fox-like Summon Spirit said, "Last time she came here with Lloyd and Colette."

"I happened to passing through the town, wondering if anyone had heard word from you, at the time Lloyd and Colette were taking a break from their journey. I had the feeling, while I was staying, that Corrine was calling out to me. Colette and Lloyd came with me and we met Verius," Sheena explained.

"So if Verius is Corrine's reincarnation why haven't you two formed a pact?" Ichigo wanted to know.

"I am the Summon Spirit of Heart," Verius stated, "I observe the hearts of others and grant desires based off the hearts of those with pure intentions. I form no pacts."

"Verius," Sheena changed the subject, "We came here because we're curious. We want to know if you can tell us what you can see inside Lloyd's heart. We want to know if he's changed."

"Yes, I can tell from looking at your hearts that you desire such knowledge. I shall do what I can. Please wait a moment," Verius morphed into a consistency of blue flame. His color changed as the color of his flame made several revolutions through the cycle of the visible spectrum of light. When he regained his form finally he spoke with his answer. "The one called Lloyd Irving, I sense within him many different emotions and feelings. There is another presence preventing me from seeing too far within his soul, so I can't tell much, but the Lloyd Irving of today and the Lloyd Irving who came to this temple a year ago has not changed much with the exception of the blossoming feelings of love. He is still constantly concerned about his friends and I also sense a great sorrow within him."

"Sorrow?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yes, I know not what causes it, but he seems depressed of being unable to trust his friends and being forced to put on a charade. His heart speaks that he believes he is doing what's best, but at the same time he wants nothing more than to be at the side of his closest friends. However, having his father around keeps him at ease. Also with Colette now at his side he is happy more so than he had been six months ago. That is what his heart says," Verius stated.

"So his acting like a huge jerk is all a façade?" Ichigo questioned.

Verius closed his eyes and then opened them, "It seems Lloyd had sensed my presence. I just found a feeling so free floating on the surface of his heart. It is a symbol of trust. It speaks. It says, 'Tell Ichigo I trust him.'

"He…trusts me?" the teen was confused.

"It continues," Verius said closing his eyes again, "Though we may be at odds now, don't let that discourage you. I can't let you know why I attempt what I do, but I want you to put up with it for a little while longer, please understand. That is what his heart says," Verius stated.

"Easy for him to say," Ichigo scoffed.

"Ah, it seems my connection to his heart has been cut off," Verius said, wincing slightly. "Was I helpful?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

The vulpine creature smirked, but it quickly faded. "Of course Lloyd's heart is not the only reason you are here, is it Sheena?"

"H-huh?" Sheena seemed to be trying to deny such a thing.

"Sheena?" Ichigo looked at her. She turned away from him.

"She is having doubts about the security of your relationship. She loves you with all her heart, but she is unsure if you feel the same," Verius said casually.

"V-Verius," Sheena turned around and took a defensive stance, flushing.

"Verius," Ichigo spoke out, "If you're able to read hearts so easily. Speak my heart's thoughts."

"Very well," The Summon spirit agreed, "I sense the heart of a troubled individual. One who has been through many trials and sad days, and forces others away because of it. However, there is also a kind and caring side to your heart. It is one of the gentlest hearts I have sensed. This gentleness though, hides a protective instinct, an instinct that compliments your determination quite nicely. I sense a multitude of people in your everyday life that you keep close to your heart. I see quite a few attractive young women amongst them, but to most your feelings towards them are no more than friendship, but you suspect otherwise from them. I sense resentment of a father and…"

"Wait, stick on the friendship stuff, please," Ichigo said.

"Ah, that's what you were aiming for," Verius said, "You should have specified." The summon spirit paused a moment and continued to search Ichigo's heart. "I see a protective instinct that shines brighter amongst several of these female compatriots of yours than the rest. Some shine brighter than others."

"Focus on the brightest," Ichigo said, now closing his eyes himself.

"Yes, it has just been isolated. Your heart speaks towards this girl. It says: 'I must protect her with all my heart and soul. I am afraid to let her too far in for fear that she'll not like what she sees. We've been through so much and seen so much, but there's still so much separating us. I'm afraid to bridge the gap. I want to, but I am afraid. I don't know if it is too soon. I promised her that I would take her to be mine one day. I intend to keep that promise. I love her. I want her. I long for her. I can't apologize enough for making her worry about me. She sees past my scowl, but she doesn't see all the way into me, but she thinks she does," Verius suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, opening his eyes

"You're heart wishes for me to stop probing into your mind. Your losing focus and you just want Sheena to get it," she said.

"I get it," Sheena said and walked slowly towards Ichigo and wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest. Ichigo wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll always be here Sheena so long as you want me," he told her, "I love you."

"I will always want you," she told him, "You're the only one I could ever want."

Sheena lifted her head up and she and Ichigo stared into each other's eyes. Slowly their lips reached each other and melded together. Each loved the taste of the other.

"Your love shines with a brilliant radiance that I have not seen for a long time," Verius said.

"Long time? You haven't even been around that long," Ichigo said as he and Sheena broke away.

"Although I was given a physical form from the conscience of Corrine and the hearts of you, Sheena and your friends, the power of the Summon Spirit of Heart has always existed in this world," Verius explained, "You, Ichigo, your heart is strong. Although I did not speak it aloud before I did notice it: you are an empathetic warrior. You attempt to understand the hearts of your friends and foes alike. You and I are not so different. I cannot form a pact, but I can offer you a partnership."

"What's the difference?" Ichigo wanted to know.

"A pact requires a vow and a test of the skill of the pact maker and then the Summon Spirit who is subjugated by the pact maker can be summoned by the bearer at will. In a partnership, something only I am capable of, I simply grant you a portion of my power and connect us to one another. Your empathy shall grow. The adrenaline that rushes through your veins shall increase your capabilities. Your passion to protect shall burn with a flame so bright that it shall never be chilled. When your anger peaks and you turn your blade on others it shall sharpen to a state to which it cannot be dulled."

"And just what will be the proof of our partnership, should I accept?" Ichigo asked.

"The same as every other Summon Spirit's power, the ring of the pact. However, while I have read your heart and deemed your worthy, I must test your worthiness," Verius explained. Ichigo reached for his sword. "Ah ah ah, this is a partnership, not a pact, we are not going to fight. I must test the full extent of your heart by testing the limits of the heart's greatest emotion. For this to work I need you and Sheena to hold hands and do not let go unless I tell you specifically." Ichigo and Sheena gripped each other's hands tightly. "Now, close your eyes," both did so, "let your minds roam free." Random thoughts cluttered around the heads of the swordsman and the summoner. After a few moments Verius told them, "Open your eyes."

Upon opening their eyes Ichigo and Sheena found themselves standing in the middle of what appeared to be a bright and shining valley that appeared to be made purely out of charoite. In front of them was a large stone gate-like structure, similar in shape to a Japanese Torii. Verius stood on the other side.

"This is the ultimate test that love must cross," he said, "If you're hearts are truly connected and if you truly wish to engage in a partnership with me you must succeed in crossing this gate together."

"What sort of gimmick are we looking at?" Ichigo wanted to know.

"If you cross this gate with any doubt in your heart, or if you let go, you will be separated from each other, permanently," Verius declared. "If you have doubts speak them now and I will return us to the temple and you may try again when you feel more confident. If you manage to pass through this gate intact it is a sign that your love is true, that your bond is eternal." Verius tails flickered about in a majestic pattern. "Will you attempt?"

"We will!" both individuals said together.

"Very well, then walk towards me and do not let go of each other," Verius urged.

As the two walked together Sheena's face flushed and she worried all the way to the gate. She had no doubts that Ichigo was the one for her, but she was desperately concerned that he felt the same. _Please be with me, please be with me, please be with me. _Her mind chanted over and over again. Verius could sense this and recognized it for what it was. She desired Ichigo, never wanting to part with him. This was not doubt, this was desire and want.

At the same time Ichigo was as calm and collected as ever. _I know we'll be ok. I'll never leave Sheena's side. I promised her. I love her too much to let some stupid test part us. She's the only want the only one I ever could want. The only one…I ever could need._

Again Verius recognized these feelings. He recognized Ichigo's feelings and thoughts as a reflection of his heart. He was sincere and loyal. Sheena had nothing to worry about. Ichigo returned her feelings in kind.

The two approached the gate and began to walk through it. Sheena's heart beat rapidly. Her face scrunched up and her eyes shut. Her feet moved instinctively. _Please be with me. Please be with me. Please be with me. _She was so nervous. She didn't know what she'd do if Ichigo was separated from her forever. He was the one who made her feel special. He was her world. He was the only thing she had left that she truly cared about. She began to reminisce about the past.

She remembered the first time they met.  
_"Y-you're Ichigo Kurosaki?"_

She remembered when they encountered each other at the House of Salvation.  
_Wh-what is he doing here?_

Her mind continued to when they met at the Balacruf Mausoleum.  
_Wh-why did he save me? I'm his enemy. His __**enemy.**_

She continued to think when they met again in Luin.  
_Yes I'll declare a truce. I want to…know him better._

Her mind moved to when they slept outside of Dirk's house when they first found Orihime.  
_"Am I…your friend?"  
"I don't think you're not my friend."_

She continued to that night in Hima  
_We're sharing the same room, what the hell? "Hey what are you doing I said I'd sleep on the floor."  
"What kind of man sleeps in a bed while the girl sleeps on the floor?"_

She continued to that almost kiss_. _And then that night in Zelos' house.  
_His lips…he's kissing me…he tastes…so sweet._

She continued to when she first had doubts about their relationship.  
_All this time. He doesn't care about me at all. I'm just…I'm just some program, a tool for his amusement._

She later learned that such was not the case. She remembered what he did at Volt's temple.  
_"So you're Volt are you? __Well let me tell you something, this girl here is trying to form a pact with you and I'm going to make sure that happens. And if that means I have to smack you around a bit I will. And I'm going to do so, in a single strike."_

"Is that so?"

And then later…at her success party.  
_"Sheena I know you have to be hurting, you don't have to put on a brave face for me if you're torn up inside."  
"I c-could never, n-not in front of you, i-it would be too embarrassing."  
"And what good is it going to do to haul your emotions inside you. Don't make the same mistake I did. If you need a shoulder to cry on I'll lend you mine."_

And she did cry. She cried and he comforted her. He saw her not as a program. He treated her like a living breathing human being. She remembered when she thought Nel was in between her and him. She realized in retrospect how much of a fool she must've acted like. But it was because of Nel that she realized just how she felt about Ichigo.  
_"Sheena you have to be honest with yourself. You can say it. You like him aren't you?"  
"Yes…yes I like him!" _

She remembered, when they got to Flanoir, how she confronted Ichigo about the situation and realized there was nothing to worry about. For the first time, she also realized, when his hormones got the better of him, how he really looked at her.  
_"You always thought of me as a girl, never as a program, haven't you?"_

She remembered the promise he made to her after the disaster with the Giant Tree.  
_"No matter what happens, I'll always be here. If you feel like crying or don't want others to see you, you can let your guard down in front of me. I won't ever turn you away you can tell me anything"  
"But what about when you have to leave?"  
"I'll find my way back to you. No matter what it takes, nothing will keep us apart."_

Nothing. That's what he said and that's what she believed. She believed it until _that _time. The time she thought that her whole world had shut down in front of her.  
_He'll be gone. I won't remember him. His promises…were they all empty? Did he…did he know this is how things would turn out?  
"Sheena."  
"Stay away! I'm supposed to forget you and move on with my life because that's what's supposed to happen. _She didn't mean to be so cold, well she did, but she just…she just didn't want to get hurt. _"Maybe it's just best if I stay away from you!"  
"And what about me? I told you before you think I got close to you just because I was toying with you? Exploring with a program? I helped you at first because you were a good friend and the awkward situations we were in pushed the fact, but there's no denying the feeling in my heart! I love you Sheena."_

He loved her. He came out and said it. She was a program and they weren't supposed to know each other and he had fallen head over heels for her. Not Rukia, not Orihime, not Nel, not anyone else in his life, he loved _her_. Once again she latched onto him and cried herself dry. He always made her feel better. No matter the situation, the world could be ending in moments, and he would let her cry her sorrows and hold her until she was feeling strong enough to break away. Who else could she possibly meet that would treat her like that?

After his confession she wished for it with all her heart and reality responded to her in kind. At the Latheon Gorge she was given a hope spot: the tale of the four samurai. It was a slight chance, but it was a chance nonetheless. As her memories caught up with her she finally reached that fateful night in Flanoir. She asked him to take her.  
_"I don't want this to be all just a dream. I don't want to possibly forget you when this is all over. I love you Ichigo!" _

She confessed her feelings and she had him take her and experience life's greatest pleasure with her. She let him be her first and he wanted him to be her only. She remembered when it was time to say goodbye.  
_"Ichigo! Wait!"  
"Sheena what is it?" _She asked him a question she had to be sure of. She wanted to know just how far their feelings reached. She remembered the expression on his face when she asked about marriage. She realized how stupid she must've sounded and turned to run away and hide, but he stopped her and kissed her so passionately. _"Baka, of course I would marry you,"_

He told her he would. He said he would make her his even if he had to make her fall in love with all over again. He loved her that much. She remembered her elated feeling when she came to the realization that they're world was real. At first she thought that the memories of each other would fade and eventually, after a good night's sleep she had guessed, she would forget everything. But no, she remembered and she continued to remember. And then she remembered _that_ day. It was the day she had been asked to be an emissary of peace. Upon her departure a black swallow tail butterfly flew onto her finger. She ran in the direction she came from and remembered when she saw him, standing there in his Shihakusho.  
_Is it really you? "Ichigo!"_

She had leapt into his arms and he held her again. His touch was all she ever needed and all she ever could need. She remembered when he didn't show last year, how worried she'd been. She began to have doubts again. And then he showed up again, in the midst of the chaos in her world, he appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and they were reunited. She was so happy and she was always happy when she was around Ichigo.

_And that's why I don't want to be separated from him ever, _she declared. _Please, let it be true. Let it be true that we are meant for one another. _She opened her eyes and realized that she and Ichigo were taking their final steps through the gate. Their hands were still connected. She looked up at Ichigo with a such jumbled feelings

"And so it is true your love stands the greatest test of all," Verius declared. Sheena turned around held Ichigo tight. She started crying.

"What are you crying for you stupid idiot?" he asked her.

"I'm just so happy," she sobbed looking up at him, "You didn't leave me."

Ichigo pat her head, "You were worried about that?" he asked her and sighed, "You're the only one I could ever want or need Sheena. I didn't make that promise half-heartedly Sheena. One day, I will marry you."

"Ichigo," the two brought their lips to each other. When they drew back and opened their eyes they were back in the temple. A bright light surrounded Ichigo's right ring finger and a heart shaped charoite gemstone ring appeared on his finger.

"There," Verius said, "A proof of our partnership."

"Thank you, Verius," Sheena said to the vulpine Summon Spirit.

"Your quite welcome Sheena," the summon spirit responded and then faded away.

Ichigo and Sheena then left the temple and went outside. Zephyr, who had been flying overhead, waiting for them, flew down and landed to let them on board. Ichigo massaged the giant bird's majestic wings, eliciting a pleased coo from the avian creature. Ichigo and Sheena then flew back to Meltokio. The sun was beginning to set as they did. Ichigo put his arm around his girlfriend and she leaned against his shoulder. It was such a peaceful, romantic sight for the two of them. They knew the chaos of their journey would soon ruin the moment, but they knew that, from now on, no chaos would be enough to rupture the links of the chains that bound them together so tightly.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah kinda short I know, but I gotta get back to work and write that book report. This is more or less a filler chapter if you want to look at it like that. I actually didn't think this piece would be an entire chapter length, but it is what it is. Although I'm sure none of you really care considering how kawaii IchiSheena is. We'll get back to the main plot next time. And just to note I did so totally rip that shrine scene off from the Ah My Goddess movie. Ja ne).**


	20. Identity Crisis

**(A/N: Kubo has done a lot of stupid things lately, but he's finally done something that helps me. For those of you who haven't watched the last filler episode, if you were watching the previews and the omake you'll recall that Ichigo said he would only fall in love with "the one" and Kon called him a hopeless romantic. For those of you who are slow that means that, at least for this fanfic's universe, that statement has more or less gotten Word of God's approval. It also means that, in canon, Ichigo doesn't have anyone who he's fallen in love with…yet. [I'm still hoping for my IchiHime]. Well, I'm done blathering, here's ToB RotS)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Sheena and I returned to Zelos' place after dark and went to sleep. The next morning we met up with everyone in Seles' room once she was awake.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Much better thank you," she said, "My brother told me everything. Ichigo, Emil, Marta, I would be happy to give you Glacies' core. Good luck on your quest."

"Yeah thanks," I said. Marta took Glacies' core from Seles. Zelos shuffled us all out of his sister's bedroom and into the living room where we could discuss the matter further.

"Rangiku and Rukia still haven't returned, are you sure that's all right?" Emil asked.

"It will take them a while to explain the situation to the Gotei Thirteen," Byakuya explained, "We do not need to wait for them when time is crucial. Lloyd may not be an obstacle, but as a result of this incident the Vanguard will obviously mark the Soul Society as its enemy and vice versa."

"Man what am I supposed to do without the voluptuous Lady Rangiku at my side?" Zelos wondered.

"As soon as we rescue Seles he's back to his old self," Sheena sighed.

"Zelos is so flighty," Marta remarked.

"No Marta, Zelos isn't flighty he's...shallow," I said trying to remember the proper word.

"Ichigo…dude, who said that about me?" Zelos wanted to know.

"Raine, she called you a wading pool," I told him.

Zelos tensed up. "Fine, fine, I'm a shallow man with obvious motives so sue me," he relaxed and said, "Still things are getting pretty complicated. The Sylvarant Dynasty, man. I've no idea what went on in Sylvarant back when the world were separated, but the Vanguard is dead set on getting revenge on the Church of Martel."

"Sylvarant Dynasty?" Emil and I questioned at the same time.

"Oh right you weren't there," Marta remembered. "It's a kingdom of power that was destroyed by Cruxis and the Church of Martel eight hundred years ago."

"With good reason I'm sure," Byakuya made to confirm.

Marta nodded, "There's a reason the Desians, and now the Vanguard, is trying to bring back the ancient weapon, The Mana Cannon, to life. It's an old relic of the Dynasty. They plan to use Ratatosk's power as an energy source."

"Mana Cannon?" I questioned.

"Is the one the Renegades have still functioning?" Byakuya asked Regal.

"Last I heard Kratos ordered it to be deconstructed," Regal answered, "At least that's what Lloyd told me when he and Colette stopped by in Altamira a few months after the start of their journey."

"I see so they would have to build a new one from scratch," Byakuya rationalized.

"What difference does it make?" I asked.

"It means they would have to get materials to build one from somewhere and know how to construct such a monstrosity. Which can only mean that either they did research and found ancient Sylvarant blueprints or they have an insider," Byakuya theorized.

"Wait…no you can't honestly be suggesting that Nel is working with the Vanguard are you?" I asked and shook my head, "Uh uh, no way! Not possible!"

"Who's Nel?" Emil asked.

"A friend of ours that used to work with an organization called the Renegades," I said.

"Captain Kuchiki I understand your bias against Arrancar, but I don't believe Nel would seek such a chaotic path. I believe that if we continue the journey as we are now we'll find our answer," Regal stated.

"Very well," Byakuya looked at Marta, "How should we proceed?"

"Well we have Glacies so we should find the next Summon Spirit Temple," she said.

"Then the closest temple would be the Temple of Earth," Sheena said.

"Then in theory Solum's core should be there," Tenebrae said.

"What do you mean in theory?" Emil wanted to know.

"It's just…recently, whenever we've been close to the Vanguard, I've felt the presence of Solum's core," Tenebrae answered.

"So you think they already have it?" I asked.

"I cannot be certain. But Solum's specialty is his ability to deceive his enemies. It could be connected to the effortless transformations of that foul-smelling man," Tenebrae stated.

"But if Decus has Solum's core wouldn't you be able to sense if he did or not?" Marta asked.

"I'm afraid that his Eau de Seduction interferes with my senses too much for me to tell," Tenebrae responded.

"Sensitive nose much?" I teased. Tenebrae didn't respond.

"Well let's go to the Temple of Earth at least, we can confirm if they have it or not if we go right?" Emil questioned.

"Yes," Tenebrae agreed and we all headed out. However as we exited the town I saw Zelos spread his wings and prepare to break away from us.

"And just where are you going?" I asked him.

"I'm going after Lloyd," he said.

"What?" I was stunned.

"Look, my bud wouldn't do anything to put the world in danger. You explained his and his old man's plan to me yourself. They want to make Miss Martel the replacement for Ratatosk. Lloyd's not the type to allow murder as a solution. If he wants Ratatosk dead there's probably good reason for it. So I'm going after him to learn more," Zelos answered.

"Couldn't you just go to the research academy in Sybak?" Sheena answered with a question.

"Uhhh studying's not really my thing," Zelos backed out, "at least in this context. I prefer biology and math to history thank you very much."

"You would be interested in biology," I joked.

"Hey!" he snapped.

I held out my hand, "Take care of yourself Zelos."

He snickered, "Never thought I'd be given a heartfelt farewell from you of all people, but I'll take it just the same." We shook hands and he took off.

"Something tells me he's not going to go directly after Lloyd," Sheena said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed. "Never mind. Come on let's get to the Temple of Earth."

"Right," Emil said and held up his hand to the sky, "Zephyr, come forth!" The large white and green bird appeared and we all flew in the direction of the Temple. Upon arrival though, we were barricaded by a group of soldiers who wouldn't let us in because of all the recent earthquakes that had been happening across the continent. They said that the inside of the temple had collapsed. I looked to Byakuya for support. He seemed to understand what I wanted him to do. He stepped forward up to the knights.

"Attention!" The soldiers recognized his voice.

"F-Former Captain Kuchiki sir," one of them said.

"Our most humble apologies captain, we had no idea it was you," the other guard trembled.

"At ease," he said, "I would like you to permit me to investigate the temple wreckage alone."

"Y-yes sir, of course." The soldiers let Byakuya pass.

"I'll be back shortly," he said and used Shunpo to disappear.

* * *

**Byakuya's pov**

I navigated my way around the temple to observe the damage. It was like the soldiers said, most of the temple had been wrecked apart. Gnome's altar, which would obviously lead further into the cavern where Solum's altar would be, was blocked by debris. I held up my hand. "Hado 63, Raikoho!" The debris was blown away in an instant. Gnome's altar lay there, but I could see no way of advancing further. Recognizing a dead end for what it was I scoured the rest of the temple in hopes of finding an untapped passageway. I didn't find anything of the sort and because of my spiritual pressure all of the monsters in the temple ignored my presence so the search was done rather quickly. Information in hand, I returned to the group.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

"So what's the verdict?" I asked.

"We may have to wait after all," he said, "Unlike the Temple of Ice I was unable to find a undiscovered passageway that would lead us to Solum's altar. If Sheena, Emil or Marta were able to accompany me I might be able to discover something."

"Why is that a problem?" I wanted to know.

"It wouldn't be if I was still Royal Guard Captain, however without any standing power I can't permit citizens to enter inside when the internal destruction is as bad as it is," Byakuya stated.

"But if we don't confirm this…"

"Ichigo calm down," Marta said, "We can still look for Tonitrus' core in the Temple of Lightning, we can come back here after that's settled and check up on Solum's core."

"Lady Marta has a point Ichigo, you need to calm down, and speaking of cores why don't we hatch Glacies' core?" Tenebrae asked.

"Ah I almost forgot," Marta realized, she brought out the core and hatched it. Suddenly Terremotto was forcefully summoned.

"Is he…"

"Yes, our wolf friend is evolving into his final stage of evolution," Tenebrae stated. Terremotto grew in size until he was about 9 feet tall and as long as a city bus. He grew an ice-blue mane and the rest of his fur was a Midnight Black. He had a long tail with a blue tuft on the end of it. If it wasn't for his canine-like face he could almost pass for a lion of sorts with the way he was built. "Ah a Fenrir, most impressive. Most impressive indeed."

"Wait? That's a Fenrir?" I asked.

"Something the matter Ichigo?" Tenebrae asked me.

Sheena explained what was on my mind, "When I formed a pact with Celsius she also had a Fenrir with her. It looked totally different from Terremotto."

"What exactly did it look like?" Tenebrae asked.

"It had four-piercing red-eyes," I said.

"Blue and white fur," Sheena continued.

"And had tusks and spines," Regal finished.

"Hmm, it's possible this 'Fenrir' of Celsius' was actually Glacies," Tenebrae answered.

"Whoa are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes," Tenebrae answered, "Glacies' animal form is that of a wolf. His form may have been twisted due to the imbalance of Mana caused by the world's splitting. If you were able to defeat him then it is possible Glacies was only at half-power. In his true form Glacies is a large, white wolf, twice the size of the creature you see before you. He is covered in a snowy aura and his legs are the color of my own body."

"That makes sense. Efreet did quite a number on Celsius' partner. Centurions and Summon Spirits should be of equal power," Sheena exclaimed.

"Yes that makes sense," Tenebrae stated.

"Still," I pat Terremotto's front leg, "Nice to have another powerhouse for a partner."

"Yes Fenrirs are quite powerful, they are level six beast type creatures of enormous elemental power," Tenebrae agreed.

All of a sudden we heard the sound of something falling on the floor. We turned around. "Emil!" the poor kid had collapsed on the ground.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Marta said as she and I ran forward and crouched down at his side.

Tenebrae warped behind the poor kid's fallen form. "Perhaps the awakening of Glacies has put a strain on him. Or perhaps he is simply exhausted. He had quite a bit of trouble staying asleep last night."

"Let's head back to the Meltokio inn then," I said piggy backing him, "We need to get Emil some rest."

We took Terremotto, as opposed to Zephyr, back to the city since there was no body of water for us to cross. Terremotto sprinted across the grasslands at the speed of a sports car. Marta seemed to be a little woozy.

"Hey you okay?" I asked.

"Ugh, all this sprinting is giving me a headache," she said.

"Motion sickness?" I questioned.

"Yeah a little bit, but as long he's not swaying or going over bumps so I'm okay. It's just the speed and the bouncing. I mean I used to do some riding when Tenebrae and I first met up," Marta responded.

"Wait, but don't you both get motion sickness," I scratched my head.

"No I mean I rode _on_ Tenebrae," she responded.

"O…kay then…"

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

After being put down to rest at the Meltokio inn Emil eventually woke up, but he was in Ratatosk mode. He woke with a jolt.

Marta came into the room, having heard him, "Emil, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Marta it's you," he said.

"You're the other Emil, aren't you?" she questioned.

"Oh that's right, you didn't want me around," Emil recalled. Back at the Temple of Darkness Marta had been concerned about the fact that Emil had been in Ratatosk mode for a long time. Ratatosk mode Emil took that as Marta only wanting the normal Emil around unless it involved a battle and hadn't been seen except under normal circumstances (Aggravation and Battle) since.

"No! It's just... ever since what happened, you only showed yourself when we were in battle, so I was worried about you," she told him.

"You were?" he asked.

"Of course, you're Emil too!" she told him.

"So you don't mind if I show up again?" he asked her.

"Of course not," Marta smiled. Emil smiled and returned to his normal self.

"Marta? What just happened?"

Marta was confused, "What do you mean? We were just talking," she said.

"We were?" Emil seemed to be suffering from amnesia of sorts.

"Never mind. You should get some rest," she told Emil.

"Okay," he agreed.

Marta walked outside the door and looked down at the floor, hand over her heart, "Emil, what's happening to you?"

"How's he doing?" Marta looked over to see Ichigo sitting on a chair in the hallway. Marta just looked saddened. "Marta, what's the problem?"

"I don't know, but all of a sudden it seems like Emil is having trouble remembering things when he's in Ratatosk mode," she said, "Yesterday while you were gone Tenebrae encouraged him to participate in the coliseum. He always battles in Ratatosk mode and in between matches he seemed to have problems realizing that the match was already over and that he was gearing up for the next one. It was weird."

"_I think Emil, might actually be Ratatosk"_

"_He looks like a friend of mine, a friend that's supposed to be dead."_

Richter's words echoed in Ichigo's head. _Maybe…there's some truth to what Richter said after all._

"Ichigo is something the matter?" Marta asked him.

He shook his head, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Marta didn't seem to sure. Ichigo walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey I mean that. Emil's gonna be fine, I'll make sure of it."

Marta smiled, "Yeah. You're right. You're always looking out for him and he looks up to you. Thanks Ichigo."

"No problem," he responded.

* * *

**The Next Morning **

**The Temple of Lightning**

**Ichigo's pov**

We arrived at the Temple of Lightning with two Martel Knights blocking the entrance.

"This is a restricted area," one of them said, "No one is allowed to enter."

"A restricted area? But why?" Marta asked.

"None of your business," the other one said, "Now go." He jabbed his lance at her.

Marta fell backwards. Emil caught her. "Hey! What the hell? Is that how you treat citizens?" I shouted.

"Shut up kid! Get out of here!" The soldier swung at me. I made to block, but a different sword stopped it first. Not just stopped it, but flat out sliced the blade part right off.

"Nobody attacks Marta and my mentor! No one!" Emil had gone into a fit of rage. In a swift motion he grabbed the soldier he disarmed by the throat and held him over the abyss of the thunderclouds that hung beneath the temple's pathways.

"Emil! What the hell?" I shouted.

"This is punishment, for attacking you and hurting Marta," he responded. "Besides Martel is my enemy. Her worshipers deserve death."

"Do you even realize what you're saying?" I asked, "Murder is no solution. Do you, who loathed Lloyd when you thought him to be a murderer, want to start walking that path yourself?"

Emil grunted and then put down the soldier and threw him down along the ground before walking back towards us. Suddenly an old scholarly looking geezer came into the area.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"Director Schneider," the knight who was still standing said, "These people were trying to force their way into the temple!"

"It's a misunderstanding," Regal said calmly, "We were simply wondering why this area's been sealed off."

Schneider seemed to recognize Regal, "D-Duke Bryant?"

"Duke Bryant?" the soldier got into a frenzy, "You mean the president of the Lezareno Company?"

The other soldier sprang to his feet and saluted, "You should have said so in the first place! We're glad to help the president of such a fine establishment."

_Man what is it with soldiers in this world always trying to catch the attention of higher ups? Even in the Soul Society there's a separation between nobility and military._

"I must apologize for this unfortunately rude welcome. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Schneider, the director of Sybak's Imperial Research Academy. Recently, the Temple of Lightning has become quite dangerous. We've restricted access to only those who have permission from the Academy," Schneider explained.

"Oh really? But why? What happened here? We really need to get inside, it's very urgent!" Marta said.

"Well I can make some exceptions as long as your cause is justified. Once I've finished my work, I'll be glad to hear you out. Perhaps you could wait for me at the Imperial Research Academy until then?" Schneider told us.

"Well that seems to work out fine," Byakuya said.

"Any objections Emil?" Regal asked him. Emil just turned his head to the side and grunted under his breath.

"Y-you?" Schneider seemed to recognize Emil.

Emil looked at him, "What? What are you staring at me like that for? It's annoying!"

"Do you know Emil?" Marta asked Schneider.

"Emil?" Schneider seemed to be deep in thought, "Yes…yes of course. There's no way it could be him."

"Does he remind you of someone?" Sheena wanted to know.

"Someone who's supposed to be dead perhaps?" I added.

"N-no it's nothing, please excuse me," Schneider went back inside the temple.

"Tch, man what a joke," Emil scoffed.

"I wonder who you remind him of," Marta said.

"Who cares?" Emil bit back.

"Well we might as well head for Sybak since we don't have any other options," I said.

"Agreed," Regal concurred.

* * *

**Sybak**

We were heading in the direction of Sybak when all of a sudden this pudgy, guy with glasses and a lab coat came running up to Emil "Aster? Can it be?" he ran up to Emil. "Haha, it is you. I told you not to get all buddy-buddy with that half-elf."

"Who the hell are you? And who the hell is Aster?" Emil shot back.

"You're Aster, duh," the guy said, "People have been saying you died while looking for that summon spirit, Ratatosk."

"Wait did you say Ratatosk?" Marta asked, her interest peaked. "Are you researching Ratatosk here?"

"Hmm, are you guy's Aster's friends?" the researcher asked.

"His name is Emil," I shouted.

"H-huh?" the guy was confused.

"Settle down everyone," Regal said and explained the situation to the researcher who then let us inside to the academy.

Sheena sighed in frustration, "I can't believe they're still holding onto that same half-elf bigotry here. It just pisses me off."

"It is difficult for people to change. Prejudice against half-elves has been around for over four thousand years. It'll be a while before it starts to fade," Regal told her.

"I guess you're right, but still...I wouldn't be surprised if they were still locking half-elves up in the basement and forcing them to do research," Sheena commented.

Marta recoiled. "They did something like that?"

"Perhaps we should go see the basement and check," Regal suggested.

"I'll stay here in case Director Schneider comes back, you can all go on ahead," Byakuya stated.

"Well suit yourself," I told him. We headed down into the basement. It was as empty as a classroom after the final bell. I noticed Emil staring off into space over by a machine. "Hey Emil, you okay?" I asked him.

He turned around, back to his usual self, "Where am I?" he asked. He looked like he had just woken up from sleep walking. He looked at Marta. "Marta you're not hurt are you?"

"What are you talking about? You went ballistic and fended the knights attacking her off," I told him, "Then we found out the temple was off limits so we came to Sybak?" I paused. "Don't you remember?"

"W-well…"

I sighed, I couldn't keep silent anymore. "Regal can you send word to Schneider that we'll be back soon?"

"Y-yes of course, but why?" he wanted to know.

"There's something I need to discuss with all of you, Byakuya included," I stated.

"Shouldn't we let him rest first, he seems a bit fatigued," Marta said looking straight at Emil. I noticed he seemed a bit pale.

I sighed, "All right, then we'll head back to the inn."

* * *

**Emil's pov**

There were these researchers that kept telling me that I looked like this guy named Aster. Aster. When Richter grabbed me back at the Vanguard base he said that one word to me. Ichigo explained to me that everyone kept saying that Aster was killed by Richter, but that didn't make sense. Why would Richter be kind to someone he already killed? There had to be another explanation. There had to be. Ichigo and Marta brought me to the inn and I lay down to get some rest. I woke up with a jolt. I had that dream again of Richter killing me.

Tenebrae appeared. "I see you've awakened." I looked around. Marta and Ichigo weren't around. They were in the room when I fell asleep. "If you're wondering about Marta and Ichigo they are with the others out in the town square. Shall we follow?" I nodded and we went out to find them. When I approached I saw them talking and the topic of discussion was me.

"Emil…isn't Emil?" Marta questioned. I ducked out of view, but not out of earshot.

"At the very least that's what Raine believes," Byakuya stated, "She said as much in the letter she wrote me. I've been observing him for a while, and I believe his "Ratatosk Mode" cannot be fully explained by possession alone."

"Byakuya's got a point. We once witnessed Colette being possessed by the leader of Cruxis. When Emil's in Ratatosk Mode, he's being possessed by Ratatosk's power, at least according to Tenebrae. However, in possession one can recall the time they were possessed, but lately it seems like he doesn't remember what happens while he's in Ratatosk Mode," Ichigo continued.

"This is not beyond Raine's predictions," Byakuya said.

"What did she say?" Marta asked.

"Her hypothesis is that the real Emil is suffering from a form of amnesia. She theorizes that the Emil we know is an invention of his mind, created to fill in the holes of his missing memories," Byakuya explained.

_I'm…not me?_

"And I keep telling you I don't see how that's possible. His aunt and uncle recognized him as their nephew," Ichigo defended me.

"That puzzles me as well. But Raine believes that his real self lies dormant along with his memories. She suspects that perhaps his pact with Ratatosk stimulated his mind, unlocking this inactive portion. Otherwise, I see no reason why his personality would dramatically transform simply from borrowing Ratatosk's power," Byakuya responded.

"Then there's something I want to add to this," Ichigo said.

"Add?" Sheena questioned.

"When we were at the Temple of Darkness, Richter grabbed me and told me he suspected that Emil was actually Ratatosk and that he looks like a deceased friend of his. Based on that and Raine's hypothesis…"

"But that's ridiculous!" I jumped out of my hiding spot. Everyone was surprised to see me, "For me to be Ratatosk. That's crazy…that's…"

"Possibly the truth," Byakuya stated.

"Tenebrae, I know you're hiding," Ichigo shouted, "Get out here now!"

Tenebrae materialized. "You called?"

"Answer me honestly, is Emil really Ratatosk?" Ichigo asked him.

"Surely you jest. Emil is himself, Emil Castagnier," Tenebrae stated.

"See, Tenebrae knows I'm not Ratatosk," I said. Ichigo didn't seem convinced.

"Ain Soph Aur is Ratatosk's technique, that's something else Richter told me. And another thing, Emil has suddenly been able to summon monsters on his own. And also it seems the more cores we hatch the easier it is for his 'Ratatosk Mode' to trigger," Ichigo slammed Tenebrae with evidence and statements. Tenebrae didn't flinch an inch though.

"Perhaps Emil truly is this Aster person, and as for the personality difference, may I remind you who it was that was physically closest to Emil when the pact was activated. It's quite possible your own Mana was drawn into the formation of the pact, causing a fluctuation that caused Emil to take on a raw version of your voice and personality."

"But then if I am Aster then the person I am now is a fake right?" I asked, hurt. "I'm Emil! Aster is supposed to be dead!" I took a step back and thought a moment. _Now it all makes sense. _I hung my head. "Is why I remember getting killed by Richter? Because I'm actually Aster?"

"They told us Director Schneider's back in the city. Let's go to the Research Academy and hear what he has to say, okay?" Marta asked me.

"Marta's right," Ichigo said, "And there's something else you should know. Our reason for saying all that wasn't so we could call you a fake. We brought it up because we're worried that you'll disappear entirely. The 'you' you are now is important to us. To me, Byakuya, Sheena, Marta, Raine—to all of us."

"Ichigo…thank you," I told him.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

We spoke with Schneider and I only walked out of his office even more confused. To sum up, what he told us was that this Aster person was nine-years-old when he started as an academy researcher. He also was apparently a researcher at the lab in Meltokio. I vaguely recalled one of the scientists looking a little like Emil. Schneider also told us the same story Tenebrae told us about how monsters control the world's mana. Apparently Aster figured this out himself. It also became apparent, through the conversation, that Richter and Aster were best buds. Then two years ago Richter and Aster went to go find Ratatosk. Richter came back after the journey proclaiming Aster to be dead and quit the research Academy. Schneider also told us that if we wanted the answer to the question of whether or not Emil was Aster we should find this girl Rilena and ask her since she and Aster were supposedly childhood friends. At the end of it all Schneider gave us a document, permitting us to enter the temple. We thanked him and left.

* * *

**Temple of Lightning**

When we entered the temple the two knights who were guarding it were out cold on the ground, dead.

"What the…"

"I sense the Vanguard further inside," Byakuya said, "but that's not all I sense."

"What is it?" Regal asked.

"Kratos and Lloyd," Byakuya said, "They're together."

"Let's hurry then," I said, "We need to beat them to the core and fast!"

We agreed and rushed off to retrieve Tonitrus core. _Damn it Lloyd, don't do anything stupid, _I thought.

We made it to Volt's altar. "I don't see an alternate path," I complained.

"Maybe I should summon Volt," Sheena suggested.

"Perhaps we should look elsewhere," Byakuya suggested only for lightning to strike down. We dodged.

"Are you okay Marta?" Emil asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine," she responded.

"This place is dangerous, just like Schneider said," Regal stated. As we were pondering this a staircase descended from behind us and seemed to go up into the ceiling. "A trap perhaps?"

"No, it's a response to the power of Ratatosk and the Centurions," Tenebrae stated.

"Well let's go then," I said. We headed up the flashing staircase and found ourselves on a more solid one, to which we saw a woman arguing with Decus.

"Woman! I can understand why a whiff of my alluring scent might cause you to freeze up, but if you don't get out of the way, I'll kill you!" he told her.

"Don't be ridiculous!" the woman shouted, "I have no interest in someone like you! But the Centurion's core up ahead is far too dangerous!"

_So then Tonitrus is still here, good. _I rationalized.

"That must be Rilena," Marta rationalized.

"Probably," I said and ran up to her and Decus and shouted, "Hey Decus!"

"Well if it Ichigo, the runt, Lady Marta and company, how nice of you to drop by," he said, swaying from side to side.

"Beat it Decus. Or don't. That would be more fun," I said drawing out Zangetsu.

"Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo," Decus shook his head shrugging, "Don't think I haven't learned a thing or two since our last encounter," He brandished his sword, "This time your mine." Without Bankai in effect he came at me before I could blink. If it wasn't for the abundance of Mana allowing me to use sky steps I would've plunged straight into the abyss. The force of his blow knocked me clear off the platform. I made to rush back in as Decus was now laying into Emil who was just defending himself. Then I sensed that fluctuation in mana and Emil returned to his other self. He then opened this weird portal that sucked up both Decus and Rilena. By the time I made it back both of them were missing.

"What the hell was that?" I asked him.

"Possibly the power of Ratatosk," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What do you mean possibly?" I snapped.

"I just said the words that popped into my head. You can blame Ratatosk for that," he responded.

"Can you open it again?" Marta requested, "It got Rilena."

"How the hell should I know? I don't even know how I did it in the first place." Emil shrugged, "Who cares about that woman anyway?"

"How can you say that so calmly?" I asked him.

"What do I care?" neither his body language nor his tone suggested any sort of remorse in his actions. "Anyway, there's nobody in our way now. We can go look for the Centurion's co—"

SLAP!

Marta struck Emil hard across the face. So much that his head turned a ninety degree angle and she left a big red mark on his cheek.

"What the hell was that for?" Emil shouted.

"You're despicable," Marta hissed. She then stomped on Emil's foot and walked away, down the path, all pissed off. She had good reason to. I was just about ready to smack him one myself.

"I believe I may have an idea where Rilena went," Tenebrae said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, The technique Emil just performed is reminiscent of that which Lord Ratatosk used to return the Centurions to their altars. Therefore, I believe Rilena may have been sent to one of the altars."

"Ratatosk can forcefully transport people that easily?" Byakuya questioned.

"No," Tenebrae responded, "he should only be able to do it with Centurions, which leads me to believe that someone inside the rift may be in possession of a Centurion's core. Power reacting with the core may have pulled in those nearby as well."

"So then they'd be at either the altar of lightning or earth, since those are the only cores neither we nor Lloyd possess," Byakuya rationalized.

"Well, let's hurry then," I said.

However, by the time we made it to the altar, we just happened to run into Kratos and Lloyd, the former of which was just picking up the purplish core on the altar.

"You're too late," Lloyd said.

"No you're too late," Emil said, "If you had just been a little quicker you wouldn't have had to deal with me."

"Where's Colette?" I asked, "She's still okay right?"

"The chosen is recovering from her injuries she received back at the Vanguard base. Lloyd and I are here for the core. If you know what's good for you. You'll let us pass," Kratos told us.

"No way," I unsheathed Zangetsu and pointed it at them, "Hand over Tonitrus' core to us."

"I'm not going to be so merciful this time," Kratos said, "The results are clear to me. If Ratatosk does awaken existence as we know it will be sent to ruin." He put the core back on the altar and drew out his weapons. "Now stand aside, unless of course you have proof to the contrary."

"I might have a possibility. I-"

Kratos cut me off, "I didn't ask for a possibility. I asked for concrete proof. If you have none, stand aside for you will not sway me a second time."

"No," I declared defiantly.

"Then you give me no chioce," Kratos rushed at me, but Emil drew his sword and blocked. He actually managed to stay on par with Kratos' strike and even managed to push him off. Kratos retook his stance.

"Ichigo, release your Bankai, you can't fight against these two without it," Emil told me.

"I know," I said and did so. Lloyd came charging straight at me. I blocked his first strike and dodged the second. I performed a counter swing and landed with my back to the altar. I then turned my head to realize something peculiar. "Huh? Where'd Tonitrus' core go?"

Kratos, Emil, Lloyd and I all stopped fighting and looked to see that indeed Tonitrus' core was suddenly missing from the altar. I then heard an ever familiar laugh, "Looking for this?"

I looked up in the direction of the voice to see Yoruichi-san tossing the core up and down in her hand, "Yoruichi-san!" _If she's here then…_

"Scream! Benihime!" A red flash of energy came charging through the area. Kratos and Lloyd dodged out of the way. Hat and Cloggs stepped from behind our group. "Seems like we made it just in time." From behind him Kon, still possessing my body, jumped out and made to deliver a powerful kick right into Lloyd's stomach. Kratos shielded Lloyd with his shield and swung at Kon who did a midair backflip.

"Wha—two Ichigos?" Sheena was confused.

"I'll explain later," I told her.

"Dad what do we do?" Lloyd asked Kratos as they stood back to back. It was interesting to hear him refer to him by that title.

"We're severely outnumbered, I hate to admit it, but we'll need to retreat. Grab my hand," Kratos told him.

I saw Urahara prepare a Kido, but I stood in front of Kratos and Lloyd, "Wait, let them go. They're not the true enemy here!" Urahara stopped.

"Ichigo!" Emil was pissed off.

"Ichigo?" Lloyd questioned as he and Kratos started to vanish as they used the power of Lumen's core.

"Verius told me that you trust me. Well I trust you too. This is my way of showing it. I'm not going to stop going after the cores with Emil. I'm just going to bide my time, because I know that we'll see eye to eye eventually," I told him. I looked at Kratos. "Next time defintely I will have proof."

"We'll see about that," he said and then he and Lloyd vanished.

"Phew," Urahara-san said, "Everyone ok?"

"Wait, I recognize you," Regal said, "You're the man who appeared to us through use of those holograms."

"Yup," Urahara held his fan up in front of his face and Zanpakuto low to the ground, "Urahara Kisuke," He snapped the fan shut and grinned, "at your service." Urahara-san walked in front of our group.

"Well we know who you are, but who's the other person and why is there another one of you, Ichigo?" Sheena wanted to know.

"Allow me to introduce to you Miss Yoruichi Shihoin, my partner, and this," Urahara-san gestured to Kon, "is Kon, Ichigo's mod-soul."

"Don't you remember him Emil?" I asked. I had a feeling his answer would be…

"Nope," he responded.

_Yeah, the two Emils are splitting apart, forming their own personalities. Did Raine foresee this? _I wondered.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Byakuya snapped at Urahara and Yoruichi-san.

"Well we were just being gentle tourists, but after a short run in with the Vanguard mistaking Kon for Ichigo we decided to track you guys down and see what's up," Urahara-san replied.

"We really have no idea what's going on, but when I saw you and the others fighting over this little trinket here I decided it was important so I nabbed it," Yoruichi-san said.

"You should give that to Marta, now," I warned, "You'll go insane otherwise." Marta gave Yoruichi a stern look when she didn't budge. She started to play keep away with the object. Marta would grab for the core and Yoruichi would pull it back at the last second just out of her reach. The repetition of this pissed Emil the hell off to the point where he actually took a swing at her. I blocked him.

"Geez what the hell Emil? Cool it!" I shouted.

"Tell her to stop fooling around then. The Centurions' cores aren't toys!" he shouted.

"Well, someone has no patience," Yoruichi turned around, arms folded. Marta then nabbed Tonitrus from her hand.

"Well since we have you guys joining us let's head back to Sybak and formulate our next move and bring you up to speed," I said.

"Works for me," Urahara-san agreed. Before we headed back Marta hatched Tonitrus' core, but it didn't seem like any of our monster friends wanted to evolve this time.

"Hey Marta," Emil called out to her as we all started to head back, "I'm sorry okay, so will you stop ignoring me." Marta didn't say a word to him and kept walking. "Hey, Ichigo, mind doing something about this?"

"I would, but even I have my morals," I told him.

"Hey!" he shouted. We all then headed back for Sybak.

* * *

**Omake 1**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

"We-hell, hello there beautiful, what's your name?" Kon asked Sheena, only to get bludgeoned over the head by Ichigo.

"Sheena, deal with my mod-soul the same way you deal with Zelos, got it?" he said, holding Kon by the back of the shirt.

"Oh boy," she realized what that meant.

"Hey c'mon, can't I even introduce myself?" Kon asked.

"I'll do it for you," Ichigo said, "Sheena this is Kon, my ill-behaved, perverted mod-soul. Kon this is Sheena, my girlfriend."

"G-girlfriend?" Kon got nuts, "Since when?"

"Two years? Where have you been?" Ichigo asked.

"You're bullshitting me!" Kon snickered.

"Want me to prove it?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, make wit the smooches I wanna see you two get all cuddly," he demanded.

"Sure," Ichigo shrugged nonchalantly. He and Sheena linked hands and kissed each other romantically. Kon's mouth dropped wide open. He was speechless.

"OH WHAT THE HELL?" he shouted.

* * *

**Omake 2**

"I hope Rilena is all right," Marta said to Byakuya.

"She should be ok. The Vanguard wouldn't provoke unnecessary casualties," Byakuya responded.

"You're worrying over nothing," Emil scoffed.

"Say Byakuya can you tell me the story about you and Raine met?" Marta asked.

"Um…well…"

"Hey, Marta!" Emil called out to her.

"I make it a rule not to speak to insensitive creeps," she snapped.

"HEY!" he shouted.

* * *

**(A/N: So yeah two omakes this time to make up for the lack of them lately. And Urahara, Yoruichi and Kon make their triumphant entrance. It'll be interesting to see how they influence the group. Wow it is really late at night. I need to be heading to bed. See ya later everyone).**


	21. Behind Red Eyes

**(A/N: haaaaah. I feel refreshed. I do hope you all will enjoy this new chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

While Ichigo and Byakuya brought Urahara, Yoruichi, and Kon up to speed, Sheena relayed information to Mizuho and Regal used one of her scouts to relay a message as well. At the same time, Emil and Marta were talking to each other. Emil was still in Ratatosk mode.

"Why are you so pissed off at me?" Emil asked Marta, "You don't like the fact that I got violent?" Marta did not respond. Emil continued, "It was my power that made it possible to protect you all this time! I'm sure you don't like me as much as that coward version of me, but he can't do anything on his own!"

"But Emil never gave up on saving Rilena," Marta defended.

Emil was not pleased. "Rilena?" he scoffed, "Ha! He only cares about her because he's so desperate to know who he is. Well, I don't care who I am. I only care about protecting you. No one else matters."

Mart got upset. "No. That's not the Emil that I love! You're not Emil at all!" she started pounding on Emil's chest, "Give Emil back! Let him come back out!"

Emil sighed. "So even you would choose that coward over me?"

"What's so bad about being a coward?" Marta wanted to know, taking a step back, "Afraid or not, Emil tried his best to protect me!"

Emil growled, "Oh sure! Then he calls me in whenever things get too rough! He's the one who asked me for help. I'm not giving myself to him anymore. I won't do it!" Emil turned around to see Ichigo. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," he said throwing his hand up in the air and staring off into space, "Byakuya dismissed me the moment he got into the conversation, saying Urahara only needed the facts. I can't stand that guy."

Emil spoke to Ichigo with a calmed tone, "Ichigo, you understand right?"

"Ichigo even you have to realize that what this is wrong! Tell Emil he has to let his other side back out!" Marta demanded.

"Whoa hold up!" Ichigo put his hands up, "I'm not getting caught in the middle of this, if you two are having a fight, it's up to you to solve it together."

"But…" Marta protested.

Emil got down on one knee. "Master, I understand."

_Master? Since when did I…well I guess I am his mentor to a certain degree. _Ichigo sighed. "Well if you understand then start working out a solution. We're going to start heading back to Sybak in a bit."

"Understood," Emil stood back up and crossed an arm over his chest, smacking a fist against his chest.

* * *

**Sybak**

**Ichigo's pov**

Back at Director's Schneider's place we asked for more information on Ratatosk and about Richter. What we learned about Ratatosk wasn't all that new, but apparently Richter used to work here so I finally got to ask a question I'd been meaning to get the answer to for a while.

"Richter keeps calling Ratatosk a 'demon lord' do you know anything about that?" I wanted to know.

"Richter's been saying such things ever since he returned from his field study. But it's nonsense. If a demon lord were to exist, it would be a creature from Niflheim, the demonic realm. But Ratatosk is a summon spirit. He is of this world," Schneider answered. "The researchers of the Elemental Research Laboratory in Meltokio may know more about Ratatosk. Rilena is working from there nowadays and her research materials and notes are there as well."

"Well then it's back to Meltokio then," I sighed.

"And what do you three plan on doing?" Byakuya turned towards Yoruichi, Urahara-san and Kon.

"It sounds like you all are caught up in quite the adventure," Yoruichi-san said and folded her arms, "Sounds like fun, I'm in."

I turned towards Hat and Cloggs, "I'm certainly interested in seeing this through to the end myself. You can count me in too."

I then looked at Kon, "You've got two choices to make then," I said to him, "You're either coming with us or you're going home."

"What if I don't want to join your little adventure?" he looked off to the side.

"Damn it Kon this isn't up for debate! Make a decision!" I told him.

"All right, all right, I guess I'm coming then," he said scratching his head. He then muttered something.

"Problem?"

"No," he defended.

"So then I guess we'll head to Meltokio?" I asked. Everyone agreed on this.

* * *

**Meltokio**

We arrived in the capital city and headed for the Elemental Research Laboratory. After noticing Sheena, who sent word ahead that she was coming, one of the researchers took note of Emil, who was still in Ratatosk mode.

"Aster?"

"Damn it not this crap again," he growled.

"Sorry about his language. Actually, I'm here because there's something I need to ask you," Sheena told the researcher. She explained to him about the situation with Rilena.

"Rilena was working on research related to Ratatosk based on Aster's research notes and continuing where he left off. You should be able to find all of her records downstairs. Feel free to browse through them," he told us.

"Great thanks," Sheena said and we all headed downstairs.

While down there I took notice of a woman with green hair, in and updo, with glasses and pointed ears, "Kate?"

The woman turned around, "Oh, Ichigo, everyone how are you?" she asked.

"Friend of yours?" Marta asked.

"This is Kate," I said, "She's an acquaintance of ours. What are you doing here?" I asked her. "I thought you would've quit the laboratory."

"Well I was, but the gentleman next to you in the bucket hat asked if I would continue my research," she looked directly at Urahara-san.

"What are you up to?" I asked him.

"I wanted to have some extra notes on Cruxis Crystals and Exspheres in my hands before I left here. I found Kate at the rebuilding site of Ozette doing nothing and asked if she could do me a favor. When I mentioned you she happily obliged," Urahara-san explained.

"Kate do you know anything about Rilena's project on Ratatosk?" Byakuya asked her.

"Ah yes they should all be in that drawer over there," she pointed to a large file cabinet, "It's organized by project name so you should find it under R for Ratatosk."

Regal went over to the cabinet and plucked out the proper file. He scanned them over. "I…can't read a word of this."

"Let me," Urahara-san held out his hand. Regal gave him the notes. "Let's see here…"

"See anything we _don't_ already know?" I asked.

"I'm looking, I'm looking," he said, flipping through the pages. "Aha, there we are." He began quoting off the page, "The guardian of the Ginnungagap, the door to the demonic realm, is named Ratatosk."

"And by demonic realm, I suppose it would mean Nifilheim right?" I questioned.

"Indeed," Tenebrae affirmed.

"Then can we assume this 'Ginnungagap' is the door between Niflheim and this world?" Regal wanted to know.

"Yes," Tenebrae answered, "And Lord Ratatosk is its guardian."

"But that doesn't make sense. It sounds more like Ratatosk is protecting the world then. Why would reawakening a guardian of the door between the world and the demonic realm destroy the world?" I wanted to know.

"Maybe Richter wants to use Ratatosk's power to get revenge on this world for its prejudice against half-elves," Emil remarked. We all looked at him. "What?"

"Well it's just…you never stand up for Richter when you're in Ratatosk mode," Sheena said.

"If I'm really Aster that means Richter tried to kill me. Why would I want to stand up for him?" Emil bitterly commented. Suddenly he doubled over and his normal voice shouted. "Richter's not that sort of person." Emil bent over backwards, and in the voice that mimicked mine shouted, "Who said you could come out?"

I expected the other Emil to fight back and say "I did" but it seemed his personality had been strongly suppressed.

"What's up with you all of a sudden?" Yoruichi asked.

"Who cares?" Emil scoffed.

"We care," Sheena lamented, "Tenebrae, what's going on here?"

"I believe it is just his strong will to protect Lady Marta," Tenebrae said.

"Tenebrae I mean no disrespect to you when I say this, but that is the biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever heard," I said seriously. Tenebrae didn't respond.

"Whatever," Emil huffed, "Yo, bucket head! Anything new in the notes are we done here?"

"I think that's all we're gonna find that you guys don't know already, where to next?" he asked.

"The Temple of Earth, we need to check up on Rilena," I asked.

"A girl?" Kon got excited.

"Down boy, don't you dare get any funny ideas," I scowled.

"Too late," he responded.

I curled my fingernails and grit my teeth. Whenever Kon was in my body I had to restrain my fury because the one paying for those injuries later would be me.

"Whatever, let's just go," Emil in Ratatosk mode had no patience.

* * *

**Marta's pov**

On the way to the Temple of Earth the group I just stopped walking and sighed to collect my thoughts. Emil saw this and came to talk to me.

"Hey are you ok?" He asked, he was still in Ratatosk mode. I just continued to stare at the ground. Suddenly I heard Emil's real voice, "Is something wrong Marta?"

"Emil?" I picked my head up. "Are you really back to normal?" I asked him.

"I'm fine, but are you okay Marta?" he asked me.

_He really does care about me, _"It's nothing, nothing at all," I shook my head.

"It's not nothing, what's wrong?" he asked me.

I sighed, "Before we left Meltokio, Urahara pulled me aside. He said he didn't want to say anything in front of everyone but that part of the notes read that Ratatosk's core is similar to an Exsphere. I've heard about Exspheres and how they turn people into monsters. What if we don't free Ratatosk in time and…"

Emil cut me off, "You fool, Tenebrae would never put you in that sort of danger."

_Huh? That's strange Emil never used that language when he's not in Ratatosk mode, _"You...fool?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I guess I got used to talking in Ratatosk Mode. Anyway, it's okay. I'm sure of it. I'll protect you. I'll protect you from the Vanguard, and from Ratatosk's core."

I took a look at Emil's eyes as he spoke. _Red…eyes?_

"Hey," Ichigo came back towards us, "Everything ok over here?"

"Yeah, we'll be along in just a sec," I dismissed him.

"Well okay hurry up," he said and headed back towards the group.

"Come on let's go," I knew Emil was mimicking his other self's voice.

"You don't have to keep pretending you're your other self," I told Emil.

He recoiled, "Huh?"

"I'm sorry I'm always mad at you. You probably hate me. But you still tried to cheer me up. You're really just as nice a person as the other Emil," I told him with a smile.

He turned away, blushing, "You've got me all wrong. I was just sick and tired of you getting mad all the time."

"You're right. I feel bad about that. I'm sorry. So you stop saying careless things about other people's lives, too, okay?" I said and ran off to catch up with the group.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

As Emil stood there watching Marta walk away, Tenebrae appeared. "I'm not nice," he said aloud to himself, "You were asking for help, so I helped you. That's all."

"Emil, has your memory returned?" Tenebrae asked him.

Emil was silent for a moment and then said, "I'm just going to shut up and handle the fighting. So if the time comes and the other Emil isn't up to the task, I'm counting on you, Tenebrae."

"Understood," Tenebrae agreed.

* * *

**Temple of Earth**

**Ichigo's pov**

Emil was finally back to normal when we reached the Temple of Earth. We had to bring him up to speed and I had to reintroduce him to Yoruichi and Urahara-san. He already recognized Kon. With that we headed further into the temple and managed to find Rilena near Gnome's altar. When we interrogated her about stuff, including about Richter's killing of Aster, she said it was the only explanation that made sense since Richter went and took all of Aster's research notes and disappeared after the field study.

Just as Rilena was about to be carried out by the Royal Guard Regal asked, "My sincere apologies for keeping you, but there's one last thing I must ask. Did your friend Aster have any defining features? Any scars or moles?"

Rilena thought a moment and then said, "He did have a small star-shaped scar on his neck."

"I see, thank you," Regal said.

"Rilena that Vanguard individual you were sent here with," Byakuya spoke up, "Where did he go?"

"He went deeper into the temple, past the altar. He seemed sure there would be an exit in that direction," she said.

"I see, thank you," Byakuya answered. Rilena was then escorted out.

"Emil about that star shaped scar," Regal started to say.

Emil eagerly responded, "There's something like that just above my collarbone."

"What? Really?" I was amazed, maybe Tenebrae's explanation was right after all.

"B-but…but I don't feel like I'm this Aster person at all!" Emil shouted.

"You are who you are," Marta told him.

"Marta," Emil seemed comforted.

"Your name doesn't matter. Even if you used to be called Aster, it doesn't change who you are. Sure, you tend to get afraid, but you've kind, and you give your best. That's why I don't think you should worry so much about it. Time will clear up everything, eventually," Marta told him.

"Yeah, you're right," Emil nodded.

"Speaking of clearing up," I looked at Byakuya, "I thought you said there wasn't a secret passage of sorts last time you were here."

"Hmm, perhaps Ratatosk's powers may be of use here," Urahara-san suggested.

"Well it's worth a shot, what should I do?" Emil wanted to know.

"Well when we were at Volt's temple there was a response to Ratatosk's power at Volt's altar, maybe if you approach the altar it might do the same thing," I said.

"Speaking of which how did you follow us up those stairs?" Sheena asked.

"Yoruichi-san and I can walk on air and Kon-san has super leg power, we didn't need stairs," Urahara-san explained.

"Super leg power?" Sheena was confused.

"Heh, watch and be amazed," Kon said. He then leapt all the way from our location to Gnome's altar in a single bound, "Hahaha! Piece of cake."

"Show off," I sighed.

"Um, right then," Emil approached Gnome's altar only for a beam of light to shine down on the altar location. Kon backed away from it in surprise. "Amazing." Emil was in awe.

"Hmm," Urahara-san seemed to be thinking.

"What is it Hat and Cloggs?" I asked.

"Tenebrae," he called to the Centurion, "Does that teleporter respond to only Ratatosk or to the other Centurions' powers as well?"

"I understand what you are trying to deduct. If indeed the Vanguard made for Solumn's altar then they would have to have possession of one of the cores and since we have 5 of the cores, Aqua is materialized and Kratos and Lloyd have Lumen's core…"

"Then the Vanguard would have to have Solumn's core by default given the technique Emil used to send them here," Yoruichi-san deducted.

"Quite right," Tenebrae said.

"But wait, that means they've had the core all along then wouldn't it?" I asked.

"It would certainly appear that way," Urahara-san said.

"We should still go after them," Byakuya stated, "Criminals need to be apprehended."

"Agreed," Marta stated and we headed into the teleporter. We saw Solumn's bare altar and then noticed a tunnel off to the right.

"That tunnel looks really suspicious," Kon commented. I nodded in agreement.

"It's possible they used it the first time they came in here," Regal deducted, "Shall we see where it leads?"

We all agreed and walked down the long dark tunnel. When we could see better I took notice of the ever familiar wooden board rafters strung up everywhere. "Oh no, no, no, no, NO!" I shouted.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Emil asked me.

"Regal, tell me I'm not where I think we are," I said to him.

"I wish I could, This is without a doubt the Toize Valley Mine," Regal said. I scowled.

"What is it?" Emil asked.

"This is the Exsphere mine my company used to own. We blasted it and buried it into the ground along with the Exspheres. I never dreamed it would have remained connected like this," Regal was expressing it differently, but he was as annoyed as I was.

"So the Vanguard has been mining this place for Exspheres, disgusting," Byakuya was mad.

"All of the Exspheres around here were dug out long ago. They would have to dig deeper in the mine to find anything," Regal explained and then added, "But it might someday be put to malicious use. We should get out of here and let the Lezareno Company know at once."

"Well let's hope the exit isn't sealed off so we can get out of here," Marta said.

"Eh, even if it is I'll carve an opening myself," I said, "Or Terremotto or Athenos could open one themselves."

"Sounds like a plan," Sheena agreed. Thankfully we managed to get out of the mine without an issue.

"Ah sunshine," I stretched when we got outside.

"So what's our next move?" Byakuya asked Marta.

"Well we've been to all the temples so I guess we could go to Altamira to let Regal relay a message to his company about the mine," Marta stated.

"Thank you Marta I appreciate it," Regal said.

"It's no problem, I have to have time to work out a plan and you have business in Altamira so we might as well take a rest there," she said.

"Sounds like a plan then," I approved.

"Let's go," Emil decided.

* * *

**Altamira**

We went straight to Regal's office and he relayed information to George about the break-in to the mine. Things were going smoothly until an employee came running up the stairs shouting, "The Vanguard is attacking the city!"

"What the hell?" I shouted.

"Ichigo calm down," Regal said calmly. He turned to the employee, "What happened?"

"I-I don't really understand it, but they're asking that we hand over the daughter of their leader," he said. "They claim we kidnapped her and are holding her hostage. Apparently this attack is in retaliation."

I scowled and grabbed Marta's arm, "You're coming with me."

"What? Hey!"

"Ichigo, wait," Yoruichi got in front of me, "Just what are you planning on doing?"

"The Vanguard already sees the Soul Society as their enemy. If we deflect the blame off of the Lezareno Company maybe they'll leave Altamira alone," I deducted.

"You're not exactly qualified to make such a call Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya snapped stepping forward, but quickly added, "but what you say has merit. The Gotei Thirteen must always act in the interest of the living. What are you planning on doing?"

"Just follow my lead," I said.

"Wh-what should I…" Emil wanted to be of some use.

"Stick with Yoruichi and defend the company building," I told Emil and looked at Byakuya, "You're with me."

"Very well, for your sake I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"Just trust me," I said.

"I find myself hard pressed to do that," he responded.

"Oh lighten up Byakuya-bo, give the kid a chance," Yoruichi-san told him. Byakuya huffed.

"What should we do?" Sheena asked.

"I want you, Kon and Urahara-san to go the hotel and set up a backup plan," I said.

"So I'm your backup huh? You have a knack for picking positions," Urahara-san told me.

"What should I do?" Regal asked.

"Do you have a portable microphone or a PA system of some sort? I want to make an announcement to the Vanguard."

"Yes, in my office, follow me," Regal stated.

"All right, let's do this then," I smirked.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Alice stood at the entrance to Altamira. She was standing around and watching the chaos unfold. "I love the smell of burning, destruction and violence in the midafternoon," she smiled, "It smells like victory."

A soldier ran up to her, "Lady Alice, the entire city has been overtaken, but the Lezareno building still holds resistance. There's talk of a kid with blonde hair and an orange blur," he said.

_The blonde hair I know, he's Martmart's pet, but this orange blur can't possibly be Berry Onii-chan. His hair is just orange not his whole body. _"Carry on soldier," she told him.

"Yes my lady," he saluted and ran off.

Alice walked out into the middle of town when there was an announcement over the loudspeaker, "Members of the Vanguard leave the city of Altamira at once. The hostage you seek is not with them, but with us, the Soul Society," Byakuya's voice came over the loudspeaker, "Send your highest officer amongst you to the Amusement park if you want her."

_How very resourceful deflecting our target from Altamira to the Soul Society, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, but I hope you realize you have made enemies with the Vanguard. I hope you are prepared for the consequences._

* * *

**The Amusement Park**

Ichigo and Marta stood near the Ferris Wheel waiting to sense a Vanguard officer approaching. Using Shunpo Ichigo had managed to save civilians and escort them to the Lezareno tower, with Byakuya's help of course.

"Are you sure this plan will work?" Marta asked Ichigo.

"It depends on how much you trust me," Ichigo told her.

"Then I trust you," Marta said, "I place my life in your hands."

"Okay," Ichigo told her. He then saw the tram approaching the amusement park. He and Marta got into position. Alice came walking up the pathway. "Alice, how predictable," Ichigo sighed.

Alice walked up to the see the scene of Ichigo with his arm around Marta's abdomen, Zangetsu's blade held up by her neck. "Berry Onii-chan how stupid do you think I look?" she asked him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ichigo said.

"Either that's a fake MartMart set up by Fuji-chan or it's all just a Façade. You wouldn't dare kill Martmart she's your ally," Alice said.

"Didn't you hear the announcement Alice?" Ichigo asked, "Soul Society kidnapped Marta."

"And? Your point?" she asked.

"You don't do your research do you? I'm not a true Soul Society affiliate. I took Marta from them after the announcement was made. I've decided Alice, I'm going to take you up on your offer. I'll join the Vanguard. I'll even bring Marta with me as a gift. I just have one condition, withdraw the troops from the Lezareno Company," Ichigo told her, talking as if he was some sort serial killer.

"Well, well, well this is certainly an interesting turn of events," Alice said, slightly intrigued, "I knew you'd see the correct path eventually Berry Onii-chan. I just knew you would."

"Call off the Vanguard, I'm not moving from this spot until you do," Ichigo told Alice.

"You're so demanding," Alice swooned. She picked up a radio receiver, "This is Alice to all soldiers, cease your advances and surround the perimeter. I repeat, cease your advances and surround the perimeter." She waited about 20 seconds before saying, "There, now will you come forward Berry Onii-chan?" Alice asked him.

Ichigo, still holding Marta like a hostage, approached Alice. Eventually he got close enough to her that he could make out the details on her outfit and then in a flash of speed, let go of Marta, grabbed Alice and pinned her to the ground. Marta grabbed Alice's receiver. "This is Marta Lualdi to the Vanguard. I am in no danger. Cease your advances and return to your posts and tell Commander Brute if he wants me he can…" Suddenly Marta was knocked to the ground and the individual who knocked her down then stomped on her back. He bent down and picked up the receiver.

Ichigo's eyes widened as to who he saw. "N-no way…"

The individual had blue hair, white clothes and had a jawbone like structure along his right cheek. "Let go of Alice, Kurosaki."

"G-G-G…" Ichigo's eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief, "GRIMMJOW?"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah, Grimmjow's working with the Vanguard. What of it? Although I am sure that makes a lot of you fangirls happy lol. Anyway, if you wanna see more, you're just gonna have to wait I have a lot of work to do again for school. Also for any of you who notice my username changed yet again from draconichero19 to draconichero20 cause I'm now 20 years old as of April 2****nd****. Anyway, see YA!)**


	22. Rivalry Battles x2

**(A/N: So I finally have some time to myself after some hectic school work and I am using it to give you guys this new chapter. Enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

I couldn't believe it, standing before me was my archrival and nemesis, Aizen's former Espada, Grimmjow. "Wh-what…" I swallowed and then gained my resolve again, scowling. "What are you doing here Grimmjow?"

"What makes you think I have to tell you that?" he retorted. I just growled.

"Let Marta go," I said gravely.

"Make me," he responded with a sadistic grin.

"Gladly," I placed a hand on Zangetsu's handle, unsheathed it and charged forward. Grimmjow blocked my strike with his bare hand.

"Even after nearly three years since our last encounter it seems I can still block your Shikai with my hierro, have you not improved at all?" Grimmjow mocked, the grin not leaving his face.

"You wanna start something?" I growled.

"Ichigo wait a minute, what about…" Marta started to say.

Realizing what she was getting at I said to Grimmjow, "If we're going to fight again let Marta go. Our rivalry is between us."

Grimmjow looked at Alice who I had forgotten I had let go of to strike him, "Can you handle the twerp without me here?"

"Oh I can do plenty more than that Grimmjow, you go have your fight with Berry Onii-chan and leave MartMart to me," Alice responded. Grimmjow took his foot off Marta's back and let her get up.

"Marta, are you going to be okay without me here?" I asked.

"Don't worry," she said with resolve, readying her spinner, "I won't fall against Alice."

"All right then," I said. In the next moment Grimmjow and I traversed locations until we were several kilometers in the air. I thrust out my sword in front of me and activated Bankai and just stared at Grimmjow.

"What's the matter, not going to use your hollowfication?" Grimmjow asked me.

"That depends," I scowled, speaking calmly, "Are you here to act as a decoy or are you here to really fight me?"

He laughed and then said, "Oh I plan to beat you into a bloody pulp," he began to draw out his sword, "The Vanguard can kiss my ass, I'm only in this to because the Commander of them said if I joined I'd have a chance to fight you," he put his nails at the blade portion of his sword near the guard, "but I also plan to take the Sylvarant Dynasty for myself once its revived," he sword began to glow blue, "I will become KING! Now grind," he raked his nails down the length of his blade, "Pantera!" he transformed into his resurreccion, claws, tail, ears and all.

I pressed my fingertips to my face and raked them down, donning my hollow mask. "Let's do this."

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Back on the ground Marta and Alice were engaged in a battle of their own. "Freeze Lancer!" Alice sent a bunch of ice spears at Marta, who, with graceful gymnastics skills, dodged each and every one. She then cartwheeled towards Alice and landed a pointed kick in the center of the girl's chest in between her breasts and collar bone. Alice went flying back.

"Swallow Blast!" Marta fired a small, white energy orb off of her hand. The kickback pushed her back a few inches.

"Lightning!" Using the horizontal version of the technique Alice tore through Marta's arte and Marta bent over like someone going under the limbo, for she had very little time to dodge. Alice ran up towards Marta. "Acuteness!" her riding crop flashed a bright white and morphed into a thin, razor sharp, rapier. Alice swung and nearly took Marta's head off.

The bearer of Ratatosk's core swept down low and slid along the ground, "Remnant Strike!" Alice fell flat on her face. Marta turned sharply and came spinning through the air, "Swallow Waltz!" Using her legs and her spinner weapon she attacked Alice using 3 successive strikes. Alice blocked each strike with her sword. "Radiant Gale!" Marta swept down low with a kick and then leapt into the air before coming down with an over the head kick towards Alice. The half-elf blonde jumped to dodge, but the impact created a shockwave in her direction.

"Force field!" Alice protected herself and then cast another spell. "Icicle Rain!" Unlike Freeze Lancer, which came forward from Alice's location, this attack rained down from above on top of Marta, but again the brunette girl was able to dodge each Ice attack. At the end of her ballet performance Alice came after Marta with a series of sword strikes and Marta blocked with her spinner, only to notice that Alice's strikes were more powerful than she could block, not to mention she was tearing apart Marta's sleeve.

Marta performed a few backflips and then crossed her arms over her body. "Steel!" Marta thrust her arms down at her side and surrounded herself in a thick, controlled, white-yellow aura. She came charging back at Alice, who was also coming to attack Marta. She slid low along the ground to avoid Alice's thrust. "Remnant Strike second step," she slid through Alice, as if a phantom, turned, erupted a pillar of energy beneath the sadist and then fired forward a blast of energy sending Alice sailing towards the ticket booth.

* * *

Meanwhile Ichigo and Grimmjow were enjoying their battle high in the air. Ichigo had just recovered from being blown back from a powerful roundhouse kick from Grimmjow and noticed the feline arrancar making a charge. Ichigo drew back Tensa Zangetsu across his body and then let out a horizontal Getsuga at his opponent. Grimmjow sliced it away with his hand rather than dodging the attack, but Ichigo had anticipated such a tactic and was now behind Grimmjow. He swung at the arrancar's back only for Grimmjow to wrap his tail around Ichigo's blade, and take a backhand swing to the teen's face. A visible crack appeared in the teen's mask as he was blown away. Ichigo repaired his mask with an extra burst of reiatsu.

"You've improved," Ichigo said to his arrancar counterpart.

"Of course I have," Grimmjow held a claw, palm facing towards the sky, "I've been waiting for a chance just to fight you again, and I've been training so that I could surpass you and now I will prove my superiority." Grimmjow fired forward two balas with a little added punch to them. Ichigo deflected both and each went sailing behind him and exploded like fireworks over the night sky.

Grimmjow didn't let the teen take a moment's reprieve. He was already on the move towards Ichigo who set up a Getsuga Tensho and held it, waiting for Grimmjow to get close. He waited for the cat-like creature to draw his limb back to strike, then used Shunpo and attacked from behind. Grimmjow went careening across the air and Ichigo charged forward only to see a familiar set of three toothpick shaped energy shards coming straight at him. Ichigo dodged only for Grimmjow to appear and kick him in the stomach. Ichigo blocked with his sword. Grimmjow lifted his leg up and pushed Ichigo's sword away and threw a punch. Ichigo blocked with his free hand and then made to swing down towards Grimmjow's neck. The Espada dodged to escape being cut.

"Tell me something Grimmjow, is this all you have? Just some augmented strength. No new abilities?" Ichigo asked.

"Look who's talking," Grimmjow snickered, "I haven't seen you pull a new technique either Kurosaki."

Ichigo dug into the pocket of his hakama and pulled out a small ring with an amethyst crystal on it, showing it to Grimmjow, "That's only cause I haven't used it yet."

"You holding back on me," Grimmjow scowled.

"On the contrary, I underestimated you. I never thought I'd need this power," Ichigo remarked.

"Well what the heck kind of technique is that ring gonna do? You gonna pull some shoddy magic trick or some shit?" Grimmjow asked.

"On the contrary," Ichigo said sticking up his ring finger, "It's not something to be used. It's something to be worn." Ichigo then slipped the ring onto his finger.

* * *

Marta tore after Alice, enhanced by her Steel aura and made to strike down the half-elf sorceress swordswoman before she could recover, but stopped when a lance of dark black energy came sailing towards her. Marta spun to the side only to realize that she had walked right into Alice's trap: a delayed Violent Pain spell. The black tendrils of energy slammed into Marta. Her aura took the brunt of the attack and was dispelled as a result. Marta steeled her resolve and charged after Alice, casting as she ran, "O brilliant light reveal your destruction,"

Alice did the same, "Tingling sword of thunder boom!"

"Photon!"

"Thunder Blade!"

The attacks canceled each other and both girls were blown back from the explosion. Alice looked at Marta with a calm expression. "Well, well, well, I must say Martmart you're doing much better than I expected. I thought this fight would be over in two seconds."

"Don't underestimate me," Marta said, "I'm not the weak little girl you remember when we first met."

"Oh please," Alice scoffed, "Your skill may have improved, but you're still the weak, whiny little Martmart I've always known and despised."

"Then I suppose it'll be embarrassing when I beat you," Marta scowled, crossing her spinner arm over her body.

Alice giggled, "You defeat me? You may have improved Martmart, but you're nowhere near my level. I'll prove it to you. I'll stand right here and let you cast your strongest spell and I bet you I'll still be standing."

"I'm going to wipe that smug smirk off your face," Marta spat. She concentrated, "Oh sacred will strike down those who would be my enemy." She released the energy she built up and aimed at Alice. "Divine Saber!" A magic circle appeared beneath Alice as a portal opened from above and powerful lightning and light energy rained down onto Alice.

A creepy slasher smile wiped over Alice's face and she held up her sword to the sky and deflected the entire wave with her sword. Marta gasped. Alice looked at Marta. "Oh my, was that your best? That wasn't very good at all Martmart," blue energy floated around Alice, "Allow me to show you real magic."

* * *

There was an explosion of dark energy and Ichigo was now equipped with both Shadow's ring and his hollow mask, his first time ever doing so. Rather than just blowing away his sleeves, Ichigo's arms became coated in Getsuga, creating a claw-like coating over his arms. Also, along with the usual transformation provided by Shadow's ring, two black, demonic wings, also made out Getsuga, spread out behind Ichigo's back. Grimmjow saw Ichigo's stance and laughed.

"Excellent! Excellent, your power is incredible. I'm so happy your power has increased so much. Because now killing you will be so much more satisfying!" Grimmjow charged forward. Ichigo disappeared and in the next instant he cut Grimmjow wide along the chest and up towads his shoulder.

"Kill me?" Ichigo looked over his shoulder at Grimmjow and then slowly turned around, "Let me make something clear Grimmjow the power I am using increases my abilities exponentially. Either my mask or the ring I'm wearing makes me equal to you. When combined," he scowled, "I'm way more powerful than you!"

"Stop talking shit!" Grimmjow shouted and pounced on Ichigo, "There's no way you could've gotten excessively more powerful than me!"

Ichigo sighed, swung and cut Grimmjow's right hand clean off. The pain shot through the blue haired arrancar and he dropped to his knees and growled from the pain. "I'm going to give you this offer once Grimmjow. Retreat now and I won't kill you. You can fight me again, when you can stand up to the power I have over you!"

"Fuck you!" Grimmjow growled, "You think just cause you got my hand you've beaten me? This battle is over when I say it is!" he charged at Ichigo only to miss, Ichigo to reappear behind him, and another deep laceration to appear along his other shoulder and side of his chest.

"Give it up Grimmjow," Ichigo turned towards his rival, "I've won."

Grimmjow's eyes grew wide with terror as Ichigo turned, raised his sword high above his head and slammed Grimmjow with the most powerful Getsuga Tensho the former espada had ever been hit by. Grimmjow went shooting down towards the ground and skidded along the ground near the inn, tearing up the ground as he slid along his back. Grimmjow stared up at the sky, as he began to fade out of consciousness. He saw Ichigo, a mere speck in the sky due to the distance between them, and scowled. _Dammit…how did he get…so much more…powerful…than…me,_ his head turned to the side and his eyes closed, _dammit._ He blacked out.

Ichigo, now victorious, removed both his mask and Shadow's Ring and made to head towards Marta's location, but when he arrived neither Alice nor Marta were on the scene. He saw the damage done to area. There was a large fissure etched into the ground and there was blood from the center of the formed fissure that seemed to have been created from a circular strike that flooded outward. Ichigo bent down and touched the blood; it was still wet so the fight hadn't ended too long ago. As he took a look around the battlefield and the damage that had occurred he began to formulate in his mind the possibility of the outcome of the fight.

* * *

**Earlier**

There was an explosion as Marta did a magnificent backflip to dodge Alice's Absolute Zero spell. As the ice shattered, the giant erupting glacier having missed Marta, the teen soon found that Alice had added a little extra phase to the spell as the fragments of ice glowed and then converged on Marta. The acrobatic former Vanguard had only just landed when the shards reached her position and got cut to hell, blood splattering the ground. She slouched over on the ground. Alice walked towards her and dispelled her acuteness enchantment before swatting her weapon in her hand and then cracking it across Marta's face.

"Didn't I tell you Martmart?" Alice stood over her, "You're no match for me. You're lucky the Commander wants you alive; otherwise I'd kill you right now." Alice bent down to tie Marta's hands behind her back, but suddenly Marta grabbed hold of Alice's wrist and chucked her as far as she could.

"This fight isn't over," Marta said, panting. _I still have one last trick up my sleeve. This is my last shot. _"Steel!" Marta encased herself in her yellow-white aura again. As she fought through the pain she held her spinner up to the sky. The spinner began to spin all on its own as a giant, violet, magic circle appeared beneath Marta. It extended outward and covered the entire area that was Marta and Alice's battlefield. A shockwave was sent out, effectively trapping Alice in place and dealing a bit of damage. "God of healing bless those that stand before you," Marta chanted. The core on her forehead began to glow, as the hair covering it billowed in the wind. Marta closed her eyes and held her spinner up and out behind her head. "Grant me the righteous power to banish evil!" she opened her eyes and swung, while entering a hunched over position. Another shockwave was sent out. Alice did her best to steel herself against the blast, but received pretty potent damage. Marta leapt into the air, her spinner started revolving at such a fast pace it was like a rotating fan blade. Mana built up into her spinner that she seemed to be drawing in from every possible location imaginable. "Radiant Roar!" Marta turned her body and fired all of the energy she had built up towards the ground using her non spinner arm. She created such a powerful explosion of bright white light that it tore up the ground and some of the ride controls were damaged. Many support beams on some of the attractions chipped away. The bright light, while damaging to Alice, healed Marta, but while her injuries had been healed, her fatigue had not.

Marta dropped down to the ground, panting. She clutched the arm she had fired all that mana out of with her other arm and stood hunched over to catch her breath. _If that didn't finish it, _Marta thought to herself, _I don't think I'll be able to win. _Unfortunately for Marta, not only was Alice still standing, but she wasn't panting or extremely fatigued. All Marta had managed to do was severely damage Alice's outfit and create some minor burns on the half-elf's skin. _No…that's impossible. _Marta's eyes were wide with surprise. She was so out of it that she didn't even see Alice coming, and couldn't put up a defense when Alice whacked Marta with her riding crop and sent her tumbling along the ground.

"I'll give you credit Martmart, your attack was really powerful," Alice said as she stood over Marta's broken down body, "the only problem was that you simply didn't have enough power."

_But I…I drew Mana from everywhere…how can that be? _Marta asked herself, unable to speak. She gasped when Alice lifted her up by her neck. Marta put her hands on Alice's wrists in an attempt to struggle. Marta was already having trouble staying conscious. Alice wasn't doing anything to ease her suffering.

Alice tilted Marta's head up with her weapon, "I told you when we started this fight Martmart that you were no match for me. You should have listened." Alice then dropped Marta, and as the bearer of Ratatosk's core fell to the ground Alice swatted her with her riding crop on a stick and delivered the knockout blow.

* * *

**Present**

Ichigo could tell based on the fact that both combatants were gone who the winner was. If Marta had been the victor Alice would still be around, possibly tied up. _Not good, _he thought to himself. He made haste back for the inn. Sheena greeted him at the door.

"Ichigo, we've got trouble," she said and then looked around, "Where's Marta?" Ichigo turned his head aside in shame, but made no reply.

"Darn it, I was hoping for at least some good news," she scratched her head, "Emil and Yoruichi had to give up defending the building, Regal and Byakuya made it here before they did. On top of that the Vanguard has rigged the perimeter of the town with bombs, so we can't make an evacuation or launch another assault. If Marta's been captured then our only trump card's been lost."

"Well we'll have plenty of time to formulate another plan once we—"

Ichigo stopped talking and grabbed the fist of an incoming punch from his left. The fist belonged to Grimmjow. He was battered and bruised, and more importantly out of Resurreccion. "Screw…you…Kurosaki…" he panted. Ichigo looked at the blue haired arrancar with sympathetic eyes. "Stop fucking looking at me like that!"

"Ichigo who is this?" Sheena stood next to Ichigo.

"His name is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, he's my rival," Ichigo stated, without a change in expression, "He's also working for the Vanguard. He's the spanner in the works that botched my whole plan."

_Go to hell, _Grimmjow thought in response, too tired to do anything else other than stand where he was, Ichigo's palm clenched tightly around his fist.

"What should we do with him? And what happened to his hand?" Sheena asked.

"I don't know, and I cut that off in battle before ending it," Ichigo responded.

_I'm going to kill you one of these days, _Grimmjow thought to himself.

The door to the inn opened, "Well, well, well what have we here?" Urahara asked slyly, fan near his face. "Looks like I just found an extra piece to my plan."

"Huh? Are you talking about Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked.

"I am," Urahara said and disappeared in an instant before reappearing behind Grimmjow and delivering a chop to the back of the arrancar's neck, knocking the guy out. He then put Grimmjow over his back. Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but Urahara spoke first. "You don't have to say anything, based on this guy's appearance and you're decrease in spirit energy I can already deduct what happened. You asked me to create a contingency plan, just leave everything to me," Urahara said and then went inside.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

Emil's reaction to Marta's capture was just what I expected. He immediately switched to Ratatosk Mode and then began fuming, "What the hell have you done? You were supposed to protect Marta and you let her get captured! Why didn't you just stick to the plan? No. You just had to go off and fight your rival didn't you?"

"Look we're going to get her back so just calm down, would you?" I asked Emil.

"Hell no," he returned, "I'm not going to calm down until we get Marta back." He paused and then added, calmly, "No I won't be satisfied until we get Marta back and rescue the people in the city." I smirked and pat him on the head. Emil looked at me in surprise "Master?"

"Nice to know you're attitude has changed from the Temple of Lightning," I said. I removed my hand.

Emil turned around and folded his arms, "Whatever." He sighed and then returned back to his original self. After a few more minutes Urahara came in to explain the plan. Regal was on one side of him wearing a weird pair of handcuffs and Yoruichi was on the other side holding Grimmjow, who was both scowling and tied up.

"All right listen up everyone," he told us, "According to reports the Vanguard has set up bombs all over the city and they've secured the perimeter. We're effectively trapped inside the city and so are the civilians. Since Soul Society now made itself the Vanguard's enemy, if any of you show up at the casino, which is the location of the Vanguard's current base of operation, it would pose a problem. So I'm going to show up and use Regal here. By using his status I and some clever word play I plan to fake the desire to join the Vanguard. The handcuffs he's wearing are a special remote device used for controlling the casino's power grid. When Regal's taken into custody, he's going to radio me when he's found Marta. Then Yoruichi's going to come in with Grimmjow and pronounce her fake intention to join the Vanguard, having recovered Grimmjow as her trust token."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked.

"It's a sacrifice we need to make," Yoruichi-san stated, "remember what's really important." I nodded in understanding.

"As I was saying," Urahara continued. "Once Yoruichi and I are in position I'm going to radio Regal to shut down the power grid. At that moment Yoruichi and I are going to lay waste to every Vanguard member in the room and locate the detonator. Once we've sought and destroyed it we move into the next phase. Sheena and Captain Kuchiki will locate the bombs and disarm them. They're the stealthiest so they're the ones who have to do it."

"What's our job in this?" I asked, referring to Emil and me.

"Once we've recovered Marta, Yoruichi is going to pass her off to Kon who's going to bring her back to you and Emil, while we're keeping the Vanguard busy you guys are going to skip town and get to safety. I'll send you a hell butterfly once I have new orders for you guys," Urahara explained.

"What do we do if things don't go as planned?" Emil asked.

"This is a plan I created Mr. Castagnier, there's very little chance something can go wrong, but if something does, rest assured I'm prepared," Urahara-san responded.

"And when do we launch this brilliant plan of yours?" Byakuya asked.

Urahara checked his watch, "It's a quarter to eleven now. We'll execute the plan starting at midnight. Until then everyone take care of whatever personal business you need to attend to, if any, and get in positions in an hour."

"Well alright then," I said. Everyone shuffled out to make final preparations for the plan. Emil and I were left alone in the inn lobby. I sat down in one of the chairs.

"Are you ok Ichigo?" Emil asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired from my battle with Grimmjow. I think I'll take a nap." I yawned, "Wake me up when it's our time to shine."

"Okay," he nodded and walked out. I leaned back, closed my eyes and slowly, but surely fell asleep.

* * *

**Omake**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Emil and Kon stood outside next to each other on a bench near the boardwalk leading down to the beach. Emil was having some lemonade and sipping it through a straw when Kon said out of the blue, "So Emil I heard you got a crush on Marta."

Emil spit out his drink, "Wh-wh-what…wh-who did you hear that from?" his face was completely red.

"Hmm, so you don't?" Kon asked.

"I didn't say that," Emil responded.

"Then you do like her?" Kon questioned.

"I didn't say that either," Emil returned.

"Wahoo!" Kon cheered, "So she's fair game."

THWACK!

Sheena bludgeoned modsoul over the head with a karate chop. "Don't even think about it Kon," she said as the modsoul toppled to the ground. She then dragged him away from Emil. "And Leave the romance stuff to the experts."

Emil looked at the scene that had unfolded with confusion. _What just happened? _He wondered.

**End of Chapter 22**

* * *

**(A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We got two really epic fight scenes and next chapter, guaranteed we're going to see Yoruichi and Urahara kick some serious Vanguard mook ass, or maybe something more heh heh heh. Nevertheless I don't know when I'll be updating next, but I hope its soon. See you later everyone Draconichero20 out!)**


	23. Hit and Run

**(A/N: Sorry for the wait folks. Time for a new chapter and some YoruHara awesomeness)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

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**3rd Person pov**

**Altamira Casino**

After throwing Marta in a holding area, Alice wandered about before sitting down at the poker table. There wasn't a game in play, but Alice just felt bored. She leaned against the table and thought how Grimmjow had just appeared out of nowhere before the commander introduced him to the Vanguard and made him a member of the combat division. The blue haired arrancar was noted to be a Shinigami/hollow hybrid based on his Zanpakuto and the hole in his stomach. Alice sent some of her hollow pets to test the arrancar's strength only for Grimmjow to devour each and every one. Alice saw a wild instinct in the blue haired humanoid. It was the same wild instinct in herself, though much less reserved. Coming out of her thoughts sat there at the table until Decus walked up to her.

"My dear Alice you look glum. Is there anything I can do for you?" Decus asked.

Alice covered her nose with her sleeve, "You can start by getting rid of that putrid stench!" she ordered.

"P-putrid?" Decus was not happy. "A-Alice h-how could you…I…" Decus dropped to his knees clutching his head as though in pain.

"Oh come on, you can't take a single insult," Alice spat. In an instant an animalistic, bestial roar, rose from Decus' lungs and grabbed Alice by the throat, pinning her against the poker table. "D-Decus what are you…" Alice could barely get out. She looked into his eyes. They were not the eyes of the goofy, but strong Decus she knew. They were the eyes of a rabid dog. Decus was Alice's only friend and here he was about to kill her. Many of the Vanguard soldiers were hesitant to go in and help. They knew that they should help Alice, though many hoped that if Decus did kill her it would solve some of their problems. Others knew better than to get in Decus' way when he went completely carnal, though it had never been this bad. "D-Decus…why are you…"

Decus suddenly realized what he was doing and let Alice go, staggering backwards as the half-elf girl dropped to ground and coughed as she massaged her throat. "Wh-what did I just…why did I…gaah!" Decus dropped to the ground again. His momentary hold of sanity gone again.

"Restrain him!" Alice ordered. None of the soldiers moved. Restrain the wild swordsman, Decus? Impossible.

Suddenly a voiced cried out, "Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" The six rods of light slammed into Decus, immobilizing him.

Alice looked to see a man wearing clogs and a green and white stripped bucket hat step up the stairs to the casino main floor. "Having a spot of trouble Alice-chan?" the man winked.

"Wh-who are you? Are you a soul reaper? I recognize kido anywhere," she said, rising to her feet and acting tough.

"I am, but like Kurosaki Ichigo I'm not affiliated with Soul Society. Actually, I'm not affiliated with anyone but my sweet humble self," the man responded.

"And just what are you doing here? Out to join the Vanguard like Berry Onii-chan?" Alice mocked. "What's your name anyway?"

"I am Urahara Kisuke, a humble shopkeeper, but you're right I did come here with intentions to join the Vanguard. I even brought a little convincer," He stepped up the stairs, revealing that he was leading Regal, his hands bound with black and red handcuffs and blue ribbon tied around the man's torso like backpack straps, converging in a party bow in the center of Regal's chest.

"You brought the president with you as a hostage?" Alice was quite impressed.

"And it wasn't easy either. I may not look like much, but I'm quite capable," Urahara smoothed over.

"Hmm, very well, lock the president up with Martmart," she looked at Urahara, "and you, if you're really serious about joining us do me a favor and put Decus in an empty room out by the fourth floor of building number two."

"Not a problem," Urahara pointed his cane at Decus, "Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku," the rods of light prison turned into chains and Decus was bound. He regained mobility and ran towards Urahara with savage fury. "Bakudo number one: Sai." Decus crashed into the ground, bound by both Kido and Urahara picked up the extended chain of Decus' rope binding. "I'll be back in a few," he told Alice, disappearing with Shunpo. He reappeared moments later, but he was not alone. Yoruichi was at his side and she had Grimmjow with her, holding down his shoulder and suppressing his mobility with her reiatsu.

"Oh what's this, friend of yours?" Alice asked, "And I see you recovered Grimmjow from the enemy."

"The name's Shihoin Yoruichi," Yoruichi introduced, "I'm here with Kisuke to join the Vanguard as well." She shoved Grimmjow forward. "Here's my convincer."

"I see," Alice said, "Tell me something Grimmjow are they…" Suddenly the lights went out.

_Good work Regal, _Urahara thought.

"What's happening?" Alice shouted.

"The power's out!" one of the Vanguard shouted.

"No shit!" Grimmjow shouted, "I was about to warn you about this too."

"Dammit!" Suddenly there was a cry of agony from Hawk.

"Hawkie, what's going on?" Alice called only to hear a shattering sound.

"NOOO! The detonator!" Hawk shouted.

Alice growled, "I'm going to go turn back on the lights, nobody panic!"

As Alice ran away Hawk shouted out into the darkness. "Who's there? Show yourself!" He saw a red flash of light before he was knocked away. Alice came running down the stairs to see Urahara holding out his sword, Benihime released.

"You tricked us!" Alice exclaimed, angry.

"Of course we did," Yoruichi said from behind Alice. The blonde half-elf turned only to get cracked across the face by the dark skinned soul reaper, "You should've been more careful then that!" Regal and Marta came running out of the prison area. "Good job Regal," Yoruichi praised.

"No time for that, take Marta and go!" Regal declared.

"Yoruichi," Marta looked at her with a bewildered look.

"We're here to get you out of here, let's go," she grabbed Marta's hand and flash stepped only for a wall of energy to stop her at the entrance. A middle aged, bald man, garbed in a long, black and red robe came walking down the stairs. He was carrying a long staff made of redwood and petrified wood with a gold plated crest on the end of it shaped like the sun, with a pyramid inside the sun and an eye inside the pyramid.

"So the commander finally shows himself," Urahara put his hand on his hat.

"Daddy," Marta squeaked.

"Kidnapping my daughter? Do you Soul Reaper barbarians have no morals?" Brute asked.

"If we're the kidnappers why did you have her locked up?" Urahara asked.

"Silence! That is an internal matter and not one that I can expect outsiders to understand," Brute shouted. "I will not allow you to escape here alive!"

"Well sorry to disappoint you," Yoruichi said throwing off her orange jacket and held her arm out in a fist at her side, parallel to the ground, "but one thing I've learned is that when all your exits are destroyed," she scowled, "you create your own. Shunko!" A white aura flashed around her and she charged straight towards Brute at breakneck speed. Brute projected a barrier only for it to shatter and Yoruichi to land a solid hit against the side of the man's skull. Brute recoiled only to open his eyes and grin evilly, causing Yoruichi's eyes to widen and she leapt back without suffering damage as an explosion of mana erupted around Brute. _So he's using the power of Solumn's core to enhance his ability? No wonder he's gone mad. _Yoruichi turned and disintegrated the wall behind her using her spiritual power. She scooped up Marta. "I'm taking her and going. Don't die while I'm gone."

"Oh? I just had an urge to go pushing up daises," Urahara joked.

"Your sense of humor is rather morbid," Regal said to him.

"You get used to it after a while," Yoruichi said and leapt through the hole in the wall.

"Stop them!" Brute shouted. Hawk was the first to charge.

"I don't think so," Urahara said getting in his way, "Hado 32, Okasen!" Urahara sent the yellow fire flash at Hawk and blasted him into the wall. Regal, using his fancy footwork, stopped some Vanguard mooks from chasing after Marta.

"Enough!" Brute shouted and a powerful shockwave went barreling towards Urahara and Regal. The former used his blood mist shield to protect him. Regal used Bastion to do the same. Brute then waltzed over to the injured Hawk and picked him up by the head. "I offer this Man's life force to the great and powerful fell god!" He slammed Hawk against the wall, pinning the man in place with some form of ancient magic, most likely granted to him by the power of Solum's core. He then skewered Hawk with the pointed prong of his staff, killing the former military commander instantly. Brute's power rose exponentially. His reiatsu was monstrous.

_I'm getting too old for this, _Urahara sighed to himself. He turned to Regal and slashed the power grid handcuffs off the man. "Regal, I know you don't use your hands as tools of death, but I have the feeling that if you don't bring out something powerful, we're not going to last much longer."

Regal's nerves were steeled, but he understood. He took a deep breath. _Forgive me Alicia. I must break my vow just this once. _Regal drew as much energy as he could, doing his best to contend with the destructive power Brute was holding within him. Regal's eyes flashed white with intense power. _I'll also have to apologize to the operators of the casino later. Some remodeling will definitely need be in order. _The flow of energy appeared behind Regal as the ethereal form of a long, whiskered serpent appeared. Regal drew back his arms as if opening them for someone's embrace before slamming his palms together out in front of him sending out a sickle shaped shockwave, disrupting Brute's energy flow. Regal drew his hands back holding them as though in prayer, before sliding them against each other and holding his palms inches from each other so that his forearms were parallel with the ground and his palms faced one another. He drew back his hands so that his thumbs touched and the backs of his hands lay flush against his chest. The ethereal serpent behind him began to materialize, "WHITE!" Regal thrust his arms forward, thumbs still touching, fingers spread apart, "DRAGON!"

* * *

**Altamira Town Square**

Off in the distance a loud explosion echoed into the night air and the casino was engulfed in a bright white and blue light. If one was standing on a tall tree in Ozette they could see the blast. It was that gigantic. "What the heck is that?" Ichigo wondered, looking directly at it, but shielding his eyes from the bright light with the side of his hand.

"I…I don't know," Emil stuttered.

Suddenly Yoruichi appeared with Marta under her arm, "Take her and go!" Yoruichi stated, pointing to the outer side of the city. "Kiskue and Regal are going to need my help!"

"But what about Sheena and Byakuya?" Ichigo questioned.

"They have their own task to complete, we'll be fine. Now get going," Yoruichi declared only to have to turn and dodge a blade of lighting descending from the sky. "My, my, you recovered awfully quickly haven't you Alice?"

Alice came running into the area, extremely pissed off. "You're going to pay!" Alice growled. She charged at Yoruichi in blind fury only for another figure to suddenly enter the fray from behind Alice, of which her battle mad self could not sense and attack.

"Eternal Devastation!" Alice turned only to see a shining green and goldenrod axe slam into the ground and slice her with stones shooting up from the ground. Her attacker was a small, pigtailed, pink haired girl. "I don't know what's going on, but anyone who attacks my friends is an enemy," she said.

"This is unexpected, but it works all the same," Yoruichi folded her arms. "You're name is Presea correct?"

"Yes," the small girl answered.

"Presea, could you take Ichigo, and our friends here to a safe location I need to be heading back to help the others," Yoruichi asked.

"Will do, but…" she noticed that there were two Ichigos.

"I'll explain on the way," the Soul Reaper clad one answered, "Let's just go."

"Very well," she nodded. "Let us make haste."

Yoruichi disappeared and Presea, Emil, Marta, Tenebrae and Kon escaped the chaotic town of Altamira.

* * *

**The open field**

Ichigo and the others had been running for several hours straight when they suddenly decided to stop.

"Is everyone all right?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm fine," Marta responded.

"Uh huh," Emil breathed.

"No damage received," Presea responded.

"I'm okay too," Kon retorted.

"Good, anyway we should be far enough out from Altamira at this point. All we can do now is place our faith in the others," Ichigo stated.

"Is the time appropriate to explain things to me?" Presea asked.

"Yeah sure," Ichigo filled the petit ax wielder in on the situation and explained about Kon.

"I see, so these are what Mod Souls are," she said.

"Presea," Marta said, "Do you know where there's a safe haven for us?"

"Yes, follow me, once we reach there we can rest, despite the fact that it'll be sunrise in a matter of hours," Presea answered.

"That doesn't matter. One day sleep won't kill us," Ichigo stated. Presea made no response, but the group headed off, but Presea stopped. "Oh I forgot something wait here," she said. She ran off only to come back with a large silver casket much later.

"When did you get so fast?" Ichigo questioned. He had taken notice of that huge thing at the beginning of the group's sprint.

"Just some…special training," was all Presea said.

"Right then, but what is this?" Ichigo asked. "Decus has one of these too."

"It's an iron maiden," Presea answered, "It's a good luck charm from Lezareno Mystic Supply, a subsidiary of the Lezareno Company. I make charms myself, and Lezareno Mystic Supply wanted to collaborate. They sent me this as a sample. They say that if you put a hair from someone you love inside here, seven hundred sixty five days later, you'll find happiness together."

"Aww, Presea do you have someone you like?" Marta asked, all bubbly.

"That…is a secret," she responded.

"Right so why do we need this thing?" Ichigo asked.

Tenebrae suddenly appeared, "I believe it will be useful for getting past the Vanguard's checkpoint up ahead. It seems big enough to hide Lady Marta inside it."

"Works for me," Ichigo said. "But if we're going to go up against a check point," he climbed back inside his body, stunning everyone. As Kon's pill flew out Ichigo caught it with his hands. "It would probably be best if I wasn't in Soul form. Soul Society and the vanguard are now enemies. Substitute or no, news won't travel fast enough."

"But what are you going to do if we get into conflict?" Marta asked.

Ichigo held up his badge, "Once we make it to this safe haven I can use this at this and leave my body there with no worries. Besides I went through some training last year to increase the ability of my physical body. I don't have as much power as I did, but I should be okay for just a couple of footsoldiers." Ichigo then reached into his backpack and put Kon's pill in his plushie form.

"Why are you carrying that around?" Marta asked.

"Why not?" Kon spoke up. "Come on, don't you just want to cuddle up with me?"

"Not really I got over stuffed animals when I was nine," she responded. Kon felt deflated.

"To answer your question this is how I normally store Kon," Ichigo answered. "It's efficient," he glared at the mod soul, "Although there are times I would wish he would just shut up."

Presea looked at Kon intensely, her head slightly tilted, watching as Ichigo and the small plushie argued back and forth, though her mind was blocking out everything they were saying. "So…" Ichigo and Kon stopped when they heard Presea speak only for the pigtailed girl's inner child to suddenly spring forward full force and she grabbed Kon and held him, "So cute!" Kon though he was in heaven for a moment only to realize Presea was as flat as a board, despite having the body of a 14-year-old, but he soon realized Presea was squeezing him so tightly he couldn't breathe. Presea loosened her grip a little, but Kon had passed out a little by that point and she looked at Ichigo with an expression Ichigo never had seen on the deadpan girl before. It was happy, but she wasn't smiling. "Ichigo you don't mind if I hold onto him for a while do you?" she asked. Her voice was much more upbeat than Ichigo had ever heard it.

"Um…not really. You can if you want to," Ichigo scratched his head. "Though I'll need that back before I leave, Kon's body belongs to my sister."

"That's okay," Presea said with a joyous tone. It was the first time Ichigo had seen the girl's personality so radiant and filled with life. It only lasted a moment before she became subdued again, but Ichigo smiled at the fact that Presea hadn't been completely lost to the exsphere's paratism. If Orihime could see the girl now she'd be glad to know that Presea was starting to become more emotional.

The group walked forward, Presea holding Kon by the arm, as if he were her own stuffed animal as the group approached the Vanguard's checkpoint. Kon went limp, since a mobile plushy wasn't exactly normal. He may be a complete pervert, but even he knew when remain motionless and cooperate for the sake of the mission. With her other hand Presea wheeled the large Iron maiden behind her, Marta hidden within it. "Halt!" the vanguard soldiers stopped Presea and the others. "State your business!"

"We live inside Ozette," Presea stated, "May we pass? As you can see my two older brothers and I are harmless civilians." She referred to Ichigo and Emil as such, to make the lie more convincing.

"Hold on there, what's that you have with you?" the soldier indicated the iron maiden.

"This is my iron maiden," Presea said standing the thing upright, "It's a good luck charm."

"Let's see what's inside then," The soldier approached the door.

Emil leapt in front of the casket, "W-wait you can't y-you'll…"

"Hmm?" the soldier grunted.

"You'll be cursed," Presea said bluntly. Ichigo, Emil and the soldier all looked at her with confused expressions. Presea expounded upon her lie. "A terrible curse will befall anyone who opens this iron maiden before it grants its wish. First, you'll experience stomach-churning sickness and diarrhea for seventy seven straight hours. Then for the following seven hundred seventy seven days, the king of demons will appear and stick his finger up your nose. Every. Single. Day. But if you're all right with that, go ahead and open it and be cursed." Presea may have been lying through her teeth, but the fact that she said all that stuff with a completely straight face disturbed even Ichigo.

"Y-you really think I'd fall for such a pathetic lie," the soldier said, taking a defensive stance.

"I understand," Presea looked at Emil, "Emil you can walk away. It seems our friend wants to accept the curse."

"N-no that's okay," the soldier caved in, "go on through!"

Presea and the others entered the city of Ozette and Presea took the others straight to her house before opening the casket and letting Marta out.

"That was most impressive Presea," Tenebrae complimented.

"I can't you believe you said all of that with a straight face," Ichigo exasperated.

"Oh, should I have said it with a menacing undertone?" Presea asked, "Maybe I could've added an evil cackle like this: Ahahaha!"

Ichigo could only look at Presea with blank, white eyes at seeing the girl pretending to be evil, "N-no what you did was fine."

Emil slumped forward, "I was so worried he was gonna open it. My heart's still racing."

"This iron maiden actually has an internal lid. To anyone who opens it normally, it will appear empty," Presea explained.

"That's some pretty cool craftwork Presea," Marta stated.

"Still, we cannot stay here. Out of soul reaper form or not, once more higher up Vanguard soldiers catch wind that Ichigo is here they'll start tearing up the place if we leave any clues," Presea shut the iron maiden and proceeded to head south. "Please follow me," she said.

Ichigo recognized the direction they were all headed in. "I see so we're heading for Altessa's place. That's a pretty good safe haven. Good thinking Presea," Ichigo complimented.

"Who's Altessa?" Marta asked.

"He's a dwarf we met on the journey of regeneration," Ichigo stated.

"Oh? Is he anything like Dirk?" Ichigo asked.

"Altessa's actually a little more skilled than Dirk," Ichigo responded. He turned towards Presea, "By the way is Virginia still living there with him?"

"I don't know. She was the last time I was there, but that was almost a year ago," Presea stated.

"Who's Virginia?" Emil asked.

"She's Raine and Genis' mom," Ichigo answered.

"Mom?" Kon said and started going into a whole thing. "Oh she must be such a calm, gentle woman, how I would love to—GLAGH!" Ichigo slammed Kon into the dirt with his foot.

"Don't get any funny ideas Kon," Ichigo said. He looked at Presea, "Like I told Sheena, if he starts to get like that, treat him like you would Zelos."

Presea was silent for a moment and then said, "I understand."

* * *

**Altessa's house**

The group walked the rest of the way normally, except Presea who had taken some packaging tape from the inside of her house as the group walked by it and tied Kon to the shaft of her axe just below the blade area. Kon, understandably, was not pleased. "I hate you," he griped at Ichigo.

"Good cause the feeling's mutual," Ichigo quipped. Kon grumbled.

When the group could see the door to Altessa's place coming up over the horizon Presea set the Iron Maiden up against a rock cliff and Ichigo knocked on the door. To his half-surprise Virginia answered. She was wearing a long green and yellow robe and her hair cascaded down around her shoulders, but she still looked as lovely, and closely resembled her own daughter, as she did when the group first met her.

"Oh Ichigo, long time no see," she smiled, she saw Presea, "Oh and Presea's with you. What unexpected company."

"You're awfully cheery so early in the morning," Ichigo greeted.

"Yes well when you live with a man who spends most of his time working with loud machinery, your sleep habits tend to change. Speaking of which you poor things look like you could use some. Are you okay?" Virginia inquired.

"We'll explain if we can come inside," Ichigo stated.

"Oh of course, of course, let me let Altessa know we have guests, just a moment," she called further inside, "Altessa, Ichigo and Presea are here. They have new friends."

"I'll be up from the basement in a moment," Altessa called, "Tell them to make themselves at home."

Virginia opened the door all the way. "Come on in."

Emil took notice of the house. "It sure is cozy," he commented.

"Yes, well, I've taken the liberties of sprucing up the place ever since I started living here," Virginia stated.

"How come you don't live with Raine and Genis?" Marta asked. "They're your children aren't they?"

"It's a long story, perhaps I can tell it to you after you've all had some rest. You look absolutely drained," she said with deep concern.

Emil yawned. "Yeah we were up all night."

"Well you can wait to tell me all the details in the morning. Go on and get some rest okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Virginia," Ichigo told her.

"No need to thank me. After all it's the least I can do for the people who helped reunite me with my family," she smiled.

Ichigo and friends went to bed and had a good rest. While they were asleep Virginia opened the door and shut it behind her, coming face to face with several Vanguard soldiers, but also Magnar of the Martel Knights. "I'm afraid they're asleep right now."

"An elf woman?" Magnar was confused, but shook it off, "No matter. I am Magnar of the Vanguard. If you know what's good for you elf, you will stand aside and hand over the vigilantes you are hauling up in here. Don't try to deny it. The Iron Maiden over by the cliff there is proof enough."

"I just told you," dense mana rose around Virginia and she looked at Magnar with a fierce stare, "they're asleep." She thrust her hand forward and shouted, "Ground Dasher!" The ground erupted into a fierce blast of stalagmites and sent the Vanguard soldiers and Magnar, for a loop.

"Elf bitch!" Magnar ran straight at the elf mother.

Virginia stood her ground and conjured up more magic. "Flame Lance!" A burning spear of fire came blazing towards Magnar and knocked him back, but the mole within the Martel Knights just wouldn't quit. "Dear me. You are a stubborn one. I do hate having to punish younglings like you who don't understand the word 'no'." Virginia prepared to cast another spell. "O hellion whose roar chills the very soul resound, Bloody Howling!" A dark, spider emblazoned, magic circle appeared around Magnar before a large pillar of wispy, dark energy erupted and twisted around him. Magnar hit the ground defeated. Virginia went over and picked up some chains lying nearby the picket fence leading towards the lake a good ways away from Altessa's place and tied Magnar to the fence with them before casting a sleep spell on him. She then went back into the house. _It's a good thing you stopped by to see me earlier, else I would not have been able to protect your friends. _Virginia looked out the window into the early morning air, "Good luck Raine, wherever it is you are."

**To be continued…**

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**(A/N: DAYUM Virgina's got game! I guess that's what happens when you've lived as long as she has, you pick up a spell or two or four XD. Mama Bear much? And yes Raine and the others stopped by to say hello at one point. Next time it's time to regroup and recharge back at the Vanguard. See ya everyone!)**


	24. Retreat, Regroup, and Recharge

**(A/N: Just because I got a tugging feeling in the back of my mind to continue, I am. Enjoy)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

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**3****rd**** Person pov**

After a few hours Ichigo and the others woke up, the first to wake was Presea. Ichigo was the last to wake and after his long slumber the group attempted to fill Virginia in on the situation.

"Oh it's alright," the elf woman replied, "Raine and Genis stopped by about two days ago with a group of your friends and told us of the situation."

"Raine was here?" Ichigo questioned.

Virginia nodded. "They seemed to be coming here after a long day so they took some refuge here."

"Where are they now?" Emil asked.

"What would be the point of tracking them down?" Presea asked, "We're supposed to stay here until the others come for us."

"No, I won't allow that," Ichigo responded. "They risked their necks to give us a reprieve. And the only reason they would've done that is to retreat and regroup. Virginia do you know where Raine and Genis are?"

Virginia shook her head, "No, I don't. Sorry."

"What should we do then?" Emil wondered.

"You can go and die worthless scum," Magnar, beaten and bruised busted open the door.

"So the Church of Martel has decided to hate us too have they?" Ichigo asked.

"That man is with the Vanguard," Virginia said.

"He is?" Marta gasped.

"Marta you didn't know?" Emil asked. Marta shook her head.

"Wait, but how did you know that?" Presea asked.

Virginia didn't respond and stood in front of the group, staring Magnar down. "I thought I tied you up and put you down for a nap." she stated acrimoniously.

"Did you think such pathetic chains could keep me down?" he panted.

"It was worth a try," Virginia said, "Although it seems your bulk made them too loose. Nevertheless, I don't mind delivering another punishment."

_She beat him? Is this guy that weak?_

Magnar pulled out his gigantic lance, "You won't beat me this time!"

"Holy Lance!" Spears of bright light went streamin forward from behind Virginia slamming Magnar outside as his massive frame left a skid mark across the ground. "Don't you know you're supposed to wipe your feet before you enter a house," she scowled.

Ichigo and Marta were both wide eyed with surprise at Virginia's apparent badassery. Presea, though also surprised, kept an unchanging face. Kon was wrapped around the pigtailed girl's head like a hair accessory, or a parasite depending on how one perceived things, jaw dropped open at the elf woman's capabilities.

Emil was in Ratatosk mode. "Didn't know she had that kind of power behind her. Still, I want in on that fight." He aimed to pay Magnar back for Luin, despite the fact that he had already delivered the man a sound beating back then.

"You may want to wait till Virginia's done," Ichigo stated, still staring.

Back outside the elf woman looked at Magnar's fallen form from a distance and waited till he got back up. "Screw that!" Emil rushed outside and put a hand on Virginia's shoulder. "Hey, mind if I tag in?" he asked.

"Just as long as you leave him conscious so we can interrogate him about what the Vanguard is up to," Virginia turned back towards the house and she and Emil smacked hands. She sat on a rock, with her legs folded in, and watched the fight.

"All right you overgrown bastard. This is payback for Luin!" Emil whipped out his sword.

"Y-you!" Magnar shouted realizing who Emil was, "So you wish to face me again, do you? You may have gotten me at Luin, but I won't fall again!"

"Your mouth is moving, but all I hear is 'Hit me Emil, please kill me, boy this armor makes me look fat!"

"Why you little…!" Magnar ran forward in rage only for Emil to dodge to the side and jump in the air.

"Raining Fangs!" A skewer of needle-like shockwaves rained down upon Magnar, creating small wounds in the husky man. Emil dropped to the ground and ran forward before thrusting his sword up at an angle. "Light Spear Cannon!" Magnar went sailing towards the house and landed on his back with a thud.

"Ready to talk?" Virginia asked nonchalantly.

"Ugh," Magnar responded.

"O din of this modest…"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the soldier cried out, "I'll talk!"

_Scary, _Ichigo annotated. He had no idea Raine's mom was so powerful.

"Very well, Ichigo I believe you had some questions," Virginia looked over to the teen.

Ichigo nodded and stood over Magnar, "Why is the Vanguard out to take Altamira?"

"The commander plans to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty there," he responded.

"So what? The Tethe'alla's Royal Army will just go and crush them and that's the end of that," Marta put a hand on her hip.

Presea answered for Magnar. "Unfortunately, I don't think that's likely to happen in Altamira. The Lezareno Company's headquarters are located there. They'd have more than enough food and supplies to hold out for a long time."

Magnar laughed and picked up on Presea's point. "That's right. And our supporters are staging revolts around the world as we speak. That should keep the Royal Army's hands full. Then, once we have Ratatosk's core, we'll use the Mana Cannon to give the Tethe'allans the divine punishment they deserve."

"You're despicable, every last one of you," Emil walked forward.

"Emil?" Ichigo questioned. Emil grabbed Magnar by the ankle and slung him along the ground behind him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Last time that little worm got in my way when I was about to deliver a sound beating to this bastard back in Luin." 'That little worm' was in reference to his other self. "This is payback!" Emil shouted.

"You beat the guy twice," Ichigo told him, "On top of that will killing him bring back those that died in the onslaught in Luin?"

"No, but then again the less enemies we have to worry about the better," Emil was more than prepared to take the man's life.

"Mer…cy," Magnar groaned from the ground.

"Mercy?" Another chord in Emil's mind snapped.

"Uh oh," Ichigo realized that all ability to rationalize with Emil had just gone down the toilet.

Emil stomped on Magnar's armor, effectively crushing through it and stomping on the man's stomach. "Mercy!" he shouted, "You want mercy? After you killed so many lives in Luin! Deceived whatever allies you made in the Church of Martel! And you attack us while we slumber so that an old woman has to defend us in our stead!"

_I'm not that old, _Virginia mulled over.

"I'm not just going to sit by and let a worm like you beg for mercy when you clearly show none!" Emil shouted. He lifted his leg out of the hole in the armor. His ankle was gashed having rubbed against the sharp fragments that remained after the hole was formed. "Savage Reaper!" Emil creating a sweeping arc thrust with his sword propelling Magnar into the air and then thrust forward with a shockwave sending the man shooting forward. "Converging Fury!" Emil tore through Magnar from one side and then fired off a shockwave from behind. He followed up with a Demon Fang and Magnar hit the dirt on his stomach. Emil approached Magnar and stomped on the man's back. "I'll tell you the same thing I told you back in Luin. You'd better pray to Martel one last time. Pray to her," He held his sword with both hands aimed downward at Magnar's body, "For a painless death."

Marta, who had been watching from the sidelines, could stand by no longer, "Emil! No! Stop this!"

Emil stopped, but did not move from his position, "And why should I? This man tried to kill you and attacked us in our sleep!"

"A friend of mine once told me that a friend of his once said: killing without purpose is murder, but killing with purpose is justice," Virginia quoted, "Where is your purpose Emil? On what grounds do you rescind this man's right to live? Because he is the enemy? Such acts are no different from criminals and tyrants."

"No I rescind his right to live not just because he's the enemy, but because he attacked Marta. I swore I'd protect her! I won't allow anyone who threatens her life to remain standing on a repeat offense!"

"But I'm telling you, you don't have to Emil! We're going to be leaving in a little bit, you don't have to kill him for my sake," Marta pleaded.

"Silence! This man shall die, as an example to those members of the Vanguard who would make the same mistake!" Emil stabbed his sword down as Marta and Ichigo shied away from watching, but instead of hearing the sounds of a sword plunging into a body they heard the metallic sounds of a sword clashing against another sword.

"That's enough Emil stand down," Ichigo looked to see a black robbed figure, with black hair, with their sword drawn, stopping Emil's sword inches above Magnar's body.

"Rukia," Ichigo said softly, recognizing the girl.

"And just why should I?" Emil asked her.

"New orders from Soul Society. The Vanguard is to be taken out, but all those who can be taken in alive should be tried as war criminals by the governments that guide Aselia. Soul Society is to make its best efforts to minimize the number of casualties," Rukia explained. "If you kill this man Emil, or attempt to continue to do so, I will fight you."

Emil snorted, but put his sword away. Rukia sighed with relief and did the same before pulling out a round, stone sphere from her pocket, revealing an ever familiar red and yellow rabbit.

"Rukia, good to see you," Ichigo walked up to her, "There's a lot I need to fill you in on and…"

"No need, I was just at Mizuho with Lieutenant Matsumoto where Captain Hitsugaya and the others are. We received an update on the situation from nii-sama. Knowing where you might be headed I'm here to take you to Mizuho so we can regroup. Yoruichi will be waiting for us at the hotel."

"He's not going to be there too? And what about Regal, Sheena and Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked.

"According to Nii-sama he's on the move to go and help put down the Vanguard uprisings. I wasn't told anything about the others. It's possible they're still in conflict with the Vanguard if they're not captured," Rukia answered.

"Captured?" Ichigo was stressed. He knew Urahara would be all right the man had a knack for getting himself out of trouble. What worried him were the possibilities regarding Regal and Sheena. Hopefully Yoruichi could shed more light on the situation. _Sheena, please be all right, _he thought.

"We should get going," Rukia declared. "By the way, it's nice to see you again Mrs. Sage."

"Yes same to you Rukia," Virginia acknowledged. "Speaking of going, do you mind if I come along?"

Rukia almost laughed, "It's going to be dangerous, aren't you a bit in over your head?"

Virginia pointed to the Vanguard soldiers off a ways away, still unconscious, "See them?"

"Whoa you did that?" Ichigo was amazed.

Virginia nodded, "Indeed." She looked at the rest of the group. "Having protected you all…I awakened a side of myself I thought I long since set aside. Please allow me to come along."

"If you feel that strongly about it, who are we to stop you?" Ichigo asked rhetorically.

"Good then I'll be right back," Virginia went inside the house and within a few minutes came back out wearing a change of clothes. She was wearing a tight fitting light green shirt and tights. Draped over her was a long green cape with golden embroidery. Virginia was wearing long, forest green boots with winglets extending around the ankles.

"That outfit," Presea remarked.

"Like it?" Virginia asked. "Altessa made it for me. It's like one I used to wear when I was much younger."

"I see," Presea responded.

"Presea what is it?" Marta asked.

"It's nothing," Presea shook her head.

"Well anyway, let's get to Mizuho," Ichigo said, "but before we do…" he pressed his badge into his chest and put his body inside the house. "My body should be safe here. Presea, where's Kon?"

"I did as you asked. Your sister's doll is currently tied to one of the support beams in the bathroom," Presea stated.

"I'm not even going to ask," Ichigo said. He did not want to know what forced Presea to do something like that.

Everyone seemed content with this and the group headed off in the direction of Mizuho.

* * *

**Mizuho**

Upon arrival in the ninja village Rukia brought the group straight to the rendezvous point. Genis was so surprised, and quite glad to see Presea, but Raine was more shocked to see her mother. "Mother what are you doing here?"

Virginia chuckled, "When we storm Altamira you two are going to see just where you got your skills from."

"My, oh my," Raine was intrigued.

"What's the situation Raine?" Ichigo asked.

"You say that like she's the one in charge," Hitsugaya stepped forward.

"Sorry," Ichigo apologized.

"I suppose I'll let it slide considering this is mainly this world's problem, nevertheless, Raine go ahead," Hitsugaya responded.

"Right," Raine said and explained, "The Vanguard is instigating violent uprisings in cities around the world, at least that's what Byakuya told us in the hell butterfly he sent. The political situation was already unstable after the world unification. The Vanguard is fanning the flames of the populace's dissatisfaction with the Tethe'allans and the Church of Martel. And there's no way to stop the revolts. If the Martel Knights get involved, it will only make things worse. Byakuya was wise to decide to go out and stop the revolts. While he may not lead the Tethe'allan royal army anymore they respect him and his skill and with his speed he probably won't have a hard time putting down the revolts one by one. Still, that leaves Altamira to us."

"Especially if they complete the Mana Cannon," Rangiku continued, "If they finish that then not even the Tethe'allan Royal Army could stand up to them."

"Then we won't let them, we'll crush 'em all!" Ichigo declared.

"Still my captain is going to have a hard time dealing with all the revolts on his own, we should help out as long as there's this many of us," Renji stated.

"Then Matsumoto, Rukia, you and I will go out and assist Captain Kuchiki with the revolts. Raine and Genis should go with Ichigo and the others to Altamira," Hitsugaya ordered. "The Vanguard commander is stationed there right now. If a group as inexperienced as the Vanguard loses its leader, the rest of the organization will likely fall apart."

Tenebrae materialized, "If I understand you correctly, you're suggesting that we go after the Vanguard's commander."

"But the Vanguard's leader is Marta's father!" Genis exclaimed.

"Even if we weren't to kill him. He may be executed for his crimes," Emil said. He looked at Marta, "I'm sorry, I…"

"No, it's okay, I understand. My father has done terrible things. Please don't worry about me," she said.

"I actually think it would be wise if Marta and Emil stay here," Virginia suggested.

"Why's that?" Ichigo asked.

"The Vanguard needs Ratatosk's core as a power source for the Mana cannon. As long as Marta stays here the worst case scenario will not happen. As Ratatosk's Knight, Emil is best suited to stay here," Presea explained.

"Sounds like a plan then, let's make some final preparations before the assault," Hitsugaya decided. Ichigo wasn't too keen on puttering around, but Rukia convinced him it was necessary to make sure things went smoothly.

While everyone was off preparing, Emil went to talk with Marta to make sure she was really ok.

"Marta are you really ok with this?" Emil asked.

"What do you mean?" Marta asked back, "They'll capture daddy and dismantle the Vanguard and then we can wake up Ratatosk."

"Are you really ok with that?" Emil asked Marta. "You don't want to try talking with your father?"

"You saw the lengths that were taken to come and get me and my father doesn't listen to a word I say anymore," Marta said, rather upset.

"Then why go through the trouble of running away from the Vanguard?" Emil, though irritated, remained his normal self. "You said you could never forgive your father's way of doing things. You were a member of the Vanguard yourself, and yet you're letting others do the most important work for you. You're okay with that?"

"Then are you saying I should go fight my own father?" Marta exasperated.

"I'm saying you should try talking with him! Just because it didn't work the first couple of times doesn't mean there's no hope at all. Brute's your father. If someone else captures him, then that's it, that's the end. Are you really gonna be okay with that? He's still your father," It was rare to see Emil acting so…manly. If Ichigo were around he probably would've praised the blonde. Marta hung her head. Emil continued his pep talk. "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. Courage is what helped me make true friends. That's why I'm giving my courage to you." Marta looked at Emil, speechless. "Let's go to Altamira. Regal's there, and Sheena, and Urahara and Yoruichi as well. They all saved us when we needed them. And you need to talk to your father."

Marta was about to say something back when there was a shout of. "The Vanguard is attacking!"

Emil suddenly switched personas. "Looks like we're not going to have a say in the matter anyway. Let's go Marta!" Emil declared. The two rushed out into the open. Emil began cutting down Vanguard soldiers before calling out Zephyr, Athenos, Terremotto and Raziel. He also summoned the Lizard and upon doing so gave it the name Gerios. "Minions! Go!" The monsters charged out into battle, they're presence intimidated the Vanguard. "Psh, what weaklings," Emil scoffed. He then noticed Marta was scared just to move and returned to her side before cutting down an approaching soldier. "I remember how they were after you the first time we met," he said.

Marta gasped, "You remember?"

Emil nodded, "I do." _Or at least this 'me' does. _He watched as more Vanguard soldiers headed his way "Glacial Spearing!" Emil stabbed the ground down at an angle with his sword causing a row of ice spears to jut up from the ground and knock the soldiers away. "And you've been running ever since. You were running because you thought once you wake up Ratatosk, the Vanguard won't be able to do anything." He turned around to see more Vanguard soldiers coming and attacked. "Roaring Tiger!" Emil rushed forward and slashed through the soldiers before turning sharply, spinning through the air, over their heads, delivering slashes along their shoulders and ending with a barrage of shockwaves from above, before landing near Marta. "But Brute has Solum's core. You won't be able to wake up Ratatosk if you keep running from Brute." He turned to see one last Vanguard soldier coming up from the horizon only for Terremotto to pounce on it and crush the soldier's head under his foot.

Virginia then appeared from over the horizon, arms concealed by her cape. "That appears to have been the last of them."

Raine, Genis, Ichigo and Presea came up from behind her. "Wow, Mom! I had no idea you were so skilled at magic. You weren't even using incantations half the time!"

Emil ignored the appraisal and looked at Marta, "Are you still going to keep running?"

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. I want to see Daddy one more time," she declared.

"But they want Ratatosk's core," Genis reminded her.

"Yes, I know. But it's just-this whole time, I haven't done anything but run away," Marta said with attitude.

"But you've been trying to wake up Ratatosk," Virginia reminded her.

"That was just a roundabout way of stalling the Vanguard. I was afraid to face my father. He had changed, so I just ran away from him," Marta said.

"And now you're not afraid anymore?" Raine asked.

"I'm afraid, but Emil shared his courage with me," Marta said. Emil flushed and then switched back to his other self. "Emil and the 'other' Emil too. Thank you."

"My other self said something to you?" he asked. Marta nodded.

She then looked at Raine with a determined look, "Let's go to Altamira."

"I suppose we don't have a choice now," Virginia said, "The Vanguard knows that Marta's here."

"Yes and together we can protect her," Presea said.

"Y-yeah, P-Presea's right," Genis stuttered.

"Raine you're okay with it too right?" Virginia asked her daughter.

"I was never really against it in the first place," she said, and then looked at Emil, "To be honest I'm more concerned about you."

Emil was bewildered, "Huh?"

"It's nothing, never mind," Raine said, "If we're going to make it to Altamira by nightfall we should start heading off now."

* * *

**Altamira**

Upon arrival at the city the group noticed that Vanguard troops had blockaded the entrance to the hotel. "Damn," Ichigo cursed, "Yoruichi's waiting for us in there."

"What should we do?" Emil whispered.

"I might have some sort of idea," Tenebrae appeared.

"Paw pad?" Presea looked at Tenebrae curiously.

At the sound of someone not calling him by his proper name Tenebrae broke out into irritation, "It's Tenebrae. If you're going to call me something ridiculous like doggie or Paw Pad, I'd prefer you just call me Tenebie."

"Chill out, Tenebrae. What are you planning on doing?"

"We just have to get them out of the way correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ichigo stated.

"Then I plan on doing thi—"

Before Tenebrae could finish whatever he was about to do the door opened and Yoruichi stepped down the stairs, wearing a very sexy black outfit. Her cleavage was exposed in a low v-cut with no sleeves and she was wearing a very short skirt. She was wearing her hair down and stepped over to the balcony of the bridge hanging over the ocean. She then beckoned forward the two Vanguard soldiers with her finger and a seductive smile, enticing them towards her. "Well, that works just as well," Ichigo said.

"Wait that's our…" Genis was surprised as to Yoruichi's choice of tactic.

Ichigo nodded, "Come on let's get inside."

The group headed inside and up to the 5th floor where upon Ichigo waved to Yoruichi from the balcony and then watched as the dark skinned beauty maneuvered herself so elegantly as she got behind both Vanguard and flipped them into the ocean. She then leapt up to the 5th floor balcony and stood next to Ichigo. "Good you're here," she said, sounding professional. Ichigo nodded his approval. "Hmm, who's the woman in green?"

"Oh, you must be Yoruichi, I'm Virginia Sage, Raine and Genis' mother, pleasure to meet you," Virginia answered.

Yoruichi focused her attention on Virginia momentarily. _Such powerful reiatsu. She may not look strong, but the extent of her ability must be incredible. This thick mana...she's a full-blood elf. _

"Yoruichi-san," Ichigo snapped Yoruichi out of her thoughts.

"Hmm, oh right sorry. Yes you're probably all wondering what happened after I left you. After I made it back to the forefront of battle the casino had been blown sky high by that powerful force of light. The only two people left standing were Kisuke and Brute, currently going at each other. Regal was nowhere in sight as was Grimmjow. I stood by and watched waiting for a golden opportunity to strike only to be blindsided by Vanguard troops and be forced to fight for my life against them rather than help Kisuke. They were all down in seconds, but when I looked again both Kisuke and Brute had disappeared. Byakuya showed up moments later saying he had taken care of the bombs. I asked if he knew where Sheena was, but he said he had lost contact with her shortly before operation completion. That's when a radio started going off near my feet attempting to reach the commander about Vanguard uprisings. Byakuya agreed that he would go out to stop the uprisings. He would contact you all and I should stay here as a contact and then we should all go in and take out the Vanguard. I must say though, you kept me waiting," Yoruichi stated.

"We required rejuvenation in the form of remaining in a deep subconscious state for hours on end," Presea stated.

"So, what's the plan?" Ichigo was more than ready to charge straight into this.

"During my stay here I overheard the mention of a building number two." Yoruichi looked at Presea, "You're the one with the closest connection to the Lezareno here, do you know anything?"

"Yes, Regal told me about it. As its name suggests it's the secondary main office building of the Lezareno Company. It can be accessed by going into the elevator here at the hotel and pressing the button marked for employees." Presea pulled a small key out of the small pocket attached to her waist belt. "This is a key needed to operate that button," she then pulled out a key card, "And this will get us into the building." She then put both back.

"Sounds like a plan," Marta deducted.

Yoruichi nodded. "Yeah, just give me a few seconds to change. As comfortable as this outfit is, it's not exactly suited for combat purposes."

"Where did you get that anyway?" Ichigo asked her.

"Just a little something I bought during my stay here. Doesn't it look nice?" She struck a very sexy pose with her arms up over her head.

"Yeah! Amazing!" Emil exclaimed.

"Noooo," Marta whined, "I can't believe Emil was looking at Yoruichi's chest."

"No I wasn't!" Emil denied.

"What is this preparation for a mission or a sitcom?" Ichigo questioned.

* * *

**Altamira Underground Tunnels**

After Yoruichi switched back into her normal outfit, the group got into the elevator and then walked through the underground tunnel that connected Building Number 2 to the hotel. Although, they were surprised when they saw a certain someone blocking the entrance.

"Kratos!" Ichigo shouted.

"So you've come," he said.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Ichigo snapped.

"Lloyd and I have come here to put a stop to the Vanguard, how about you?" he asked.

"The same," Marta responded.

"Very well then," he tapped a few keys into the door behind him and it opened, "Shall we go together?"

"Kratos…are you…"

"Even if we were competing for the Centurions' Cores, we can both agree that the Vanguard is a menace that must be stopped."

"Glad to have you along," Ichigo was elated.

"So wait, where's Lloyd?" Emil asked.

"Lloyd went on ahead. He told me to wait here for the rest of you," Kratos stated.

"Knowing Lloyd he's probably charging headlong like an idiot and depending on how long you guys have been here I wouldn't be surprised if the alarms suddenly went off," Genis joked.

Kratos made no response, merely turned around. "We shouldn't dawdle." He walked forward.

"That man…his name is Kratos, yes?" Virginia asked.

"Mother, do you know him?" Raine asked.

"It's nothing," Virginia said, "forget I said anything."

Not wanting to butt into the elf woman's business, the group followed Kratos who was headed straight for the security room. Kratos brought up a map of the facility. He pointed to the top floor, "Brute is most likely here," he pointed to Regal's office, "and the elevator that leads to that floor should be somewhere around here." He pointed to a location on the map. "The vanguard forces will be at their full force of strength, also they've employed hollows and even monsters into their numbers. It would be wise for us to split up and divert the Vanguard's attention. One group will be our stealth team. That group's job will be to come with me and make an advance on Brute," he traced the route with his finger, "We'll move slowly and quietly so as not to draw the attention of too many troops. The other group will be our diversion team. That team will take the long route," he traced the diversion route as he had done for the stealth route, "But they'll charge headlong through the Vanguard's forces and take out most of the enemy. If we're lucky we'll both make it to Brute at the same time. If we are unlucky we'll have the ability to attack in waves. Even with the power of Solum's core, Brute should submit."

"That's quite a clever plan Kratos," Raine complimented.

"So who's going with what group?" Genis asked.

"Why don't you, your sister, Presea, and Yoruichi go with Kratos and Ichigo, Emil, Marta and I shall divert the Vanguard's attention," Virginia suggested.

"That's fine mother, but…"

"Mother?" Kratos was surprised and then took a good look at Virginia. "I see, so the Emerald Witch of Ymir is back is she?"

"Emerald witch? Mother?" Raine was confused.

"I remember now," Presea said.

"P-Presea wh-what is it?" Genis asked.

"The Emerald Witch of Ymir. It was an old folklore tale that daddy used to read to Alicia and me. The Emerald Witch acted as a guardian to several of Tethe'alla's chosen."

"Yes indeed," Virginia replied, "Kratos was my companion on one of those journeys." She became slightly depressed as she said. "To think that I led people straight to their deaths."

"That's in the past," Kratos stated, trying to uplift her spirit. "At the time the Emerald Witch was regarded as a hero by the Tethe'allans. She was the only elf to refuse to sit on the sidelines."

"Mother…did father know about…what you were?" Raine asked, finding this all a complete surprise.

"I actually met your father on my final journey as a guardian. He was actually the reason my guardian days ended," Virginia stated.

"Just like in the folk tale," Presea realized, "And so the Emerald Witch accepted the proposal of her handsome Knight. She hung up her cape and the two lived happily ever after."

"Well I wouldn't exactly call it a happily ever after, but it is true that I never cast a spell other than to heal after I decided to be with Kloitz," Virginia answered.

"I didn't realize you were so well known by the Tethe'allan people," Raine stated.

"Yes, that's probably the reason we were sought after so much. The daughter of the Emerald Witch? For the academy to have such a child would be incredible. In fact, when I was unable to follow you into Sylvarant that was…the first time I ever fought back since I ceased fighting."

* * *

_Flashback_

_**Virginia's pov**_

"_Raine!" I called out, but she and Genis were gone, disappeared into the void to Sylvarant. _In the legendary world of Sylvarant, surely they will be happy.

"_Cease your resistance!" The Martel Knights told Kloitz and me._

"_No!" I channeled Mana and broke free of the knights holding me down, "Kloitz I'm sorry, but I must break our promise."_

"_That's fine," Kloitz drew out his sword and cut down the knights nearby him, "I was tired of acting helpless anyway."_

"_We shall go to Exire after this. We can stay there until the gate can open again," I said._

"_Agreed," Kloitz nodded and charged._

_I took aim at the knights coming at me, "Stalagmite!" _

_End Flashback_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

"We did eventually make it to Exire, but Kloitz fell ill and died shortly after our arrival," Virginia stated.

"And you started to float off into your own world of dreams," Raine stated, "So that's what happened. Mother…I had no idea."

"That means we're the children of a legendary Tethe'allan hero. That's so cool," Genis was ecstatic to find that his mother had such a remarkable history.

"Yes and now today the legend continues," Virginia turned around and her cape flapped along with her as she headed for the door, "Ichigo, Emil, Marta, let's go." The teens nodded and followed suit after her.

"Shall we go?" Raine asked Kratos.

"After you," he said.

The group headed off and prepared to go out and face the Vanguard. This was the last hurrah. After this the Vanguard would be history.

* * *

**Omake**

"Oh come on!" Marta complained after the group began walking around for a while, "Why does the Lezareno Company have to buildings this big?"

"Maybe as a symbol of their success?" Emil suggested.

"But why do we have to suffer for it?" Marta complained, "A company's building should be simple and small."

Tenebrae's mind hatched an idea. "I know a way to make this company very small," he chuckled.

"How?" Emil asked.

"That's easy," Tenebrae hummed, "We simply cause the Lezareno Company to go bankrupt."

"I think Regal would kill us if he overheard this conversation," Ichigo sighed.

**End Chapter 24**

* * *

**(A/N: So yeah I decided to make Virginia's character a little more interesting. After all, Raine and Genis' expertise had to come from somewhere. And also half-elves are born every day, why should Raine's supreme intelligence matter, more importantly how would they know or even care that she had been born? I thought Virginia must've had to have had some form of reputation and this is what I came up with. Anyway, that's all for now. I'm so glad Passover is almost over. The first thing I'm going to eat when it's over Tuesday evening is have some pizza. Because that is what I miss the most of not having right now. Anyway, see ya)**


	25. Unification

**(A/N: It's early afternoon and I've got nothing better to do. So here's a new chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

As Ichigo's group tore through the Vanguard's arsenal a conversation opened up in the middle of battle

"Hey Virginia," Ichigo said as he hacked down another soldier, "If your this skilled at magic how come you didn't come with us to defeat Mithos?"

"There are a few reasons," Virginia said as she launched a fireball at an approaching soldier.

Ichigo turned and blocked a pair of katars from a soldier coming at him before the man was trampled underfoot by Terremotto. "Like what?"

"For starters," Virginia said as she cast demon's lance at an incoming monster, "I had to look after Altessa and Tabatha at the time. The two of them were in need of some care of which I was willing to provide." She turned towards Ichigo and watched as the teen sent out a mildly weak Getsuga Tensho and ripped apart some mandragoras. "Secondly, I didn't think I could keep up with all you young ones. I'm may not be as old as some of the Soul Reapers, but I've lived long enough that I'm considered of motherly age by elven standards." She fired the icicle spell at an approaching Vanguard before taking him out with an attack of Photon. "Lastly, do you know how long it has been since I've done this? I sure don't, I'm probably a bit rusty." She noticed a Vanguard soldier coming up behind Ichigo. "Stalagmite!"

"You consider that rusty?" Ichigo scratched his head. "Your casting spells without incantations. Even Raine and Genis can't do that."

"It comes with experience and mastery," Virginia said, "Spell incantations were created to create the proper flow and draw in the mana to cast a spell. My skills and reflexes may be rusty, but I still remember how to cast." She launched off Wind Blade at Vanguard coming up behind her without turning around. "It's just a matter of reflexes and raw power. Although I will admit it does feel good to be reliving the past. Just like when I fought off all those knights."

Ichigo and Marta came running up to the pair. Ichigo took notice that the monsters had been desummoend. "That's the last of them," Emil said, already having reverted back to his normal self.

"That's good," Ichigo said. "I'm getting tired of these waves. Every time we enter an open room it just seems like there are more troops waiting for us."

Not a second after that statement was uttered the elevator in the lobby opened and Alice stepped out of it. She was smiling as usual. "Alice," Marta gasped.

"When you didn't head for the elevator, I thought you might take this route," she smiled.

"Is Daddy here?" Marta asked crossly.

"You don't have to act so scary. I didn't come here to fight you," Alice said sweetly.

"Yeah and I'm the Easter Bunny," Ichigo said sarcastically.

"I've never heard of that monster," Alice said.

Ichigo facepalmed, "Never mind."

"A-anyway," Alice now looked distraught, "I hate to ask you this considering all the times I've tried to kill you, but..."

"But..." Ichigo encouraged Alice.

"It's Dumbo Decus! I want you to help him. I'll take you straight to Commander Brute if you do."

"Since when do you care about that loser?" Ichigo asked.

"Th-that's beside the point," Alcie stuttered, not missing a beat. "Please help him. Decus has completely lost it. Commander Brute gave Solum's core to Decus so he could transform into Lloyd, but it's changed his personality. We had to have him locked up for safety precautions."

"A Centurion's core can make humans go insane," Tenebrae hinted at the truth to Alice's words. "If we hatched Solum's core, I believe he would come back to his senses. But doesn't Brute currently have the core?"

"Commander Brute gave the core back to Decus hoping it would calm him down, but it hasn't helped him at all, please do something."

"Tenebie can you locate Solum's core nearby?" Virginia asked him.

"I've felt its presence ever since we entered this city. However, it's out of control and affecting the entire region. I'm having trouble pinpointing its exact location. And my name is Tenebrae. T-e-n-e-b-r-a-e Tenebrae!" The dark Centurion responded.

"Martmart, please! If you help Decus, I'll take you right to Commander Brute, I swear!"

"Oh yeah because your word is so meaningful," Ichigo griped.

"What's that supposed to mean? I've never lied ever I've only ever given the honest truth, especially to you Berry Onii-chan so please help Decus!" Alice looked like she might turn on the water works any second.

"Let's help Decus," Emil responded, "It'll give us a chance to hatch the core."

"I must advise against it. Remember, Decus was the one who killed your parents in the Blood Purge," Tenebrae put in.

Alice turned desperate, "Well make him face his crimes! Just please help him! I can't stand seeing him like this! Decus is…my only friend." She was about to cry when Ichigo put a hand on her shoulder. She gasped and looked up at the soft scowling Soul Reaper.

"Don't worry," he said, "We'll help him." Ichigo looked at Tenebrae. "The most important thing right now is hatching the core. Besides, Decus won't be able to confess to what happened in Palmacosta until he's back to normal."

"All right, we'll help," Marta agreed.

Alice hugged Ichigo back to her usual, happy self, "Oh thank you Berry Onii-chan, thank you! I knew I could count on you!" She let go and pressed the button for the elevator, "Please follow me."

The blonde led the group to an enclosed room where Decus had his arms strapped down to the wall. There was intense energy emanating from all around him. His eyes looked like the eyes of a man gone wild. No not a man, more like a beast. "Guh…Give me Solum's…CORE!" Decus roared.

_Whoa, Alice wasn't kidding._

"He hasn't been a very happy boy ever since Commander Brute took Solum's core from him," Alice said sweetly. She pressed a button on her swatter's guard. The floor beneath Marta opened swallowing her up. Marta screamed as she fell through. The hole closed up immediately.

"Alice what the hell?" Ichigo shouted as he turned to face her.

"You lied to us!" Emil shouted.

"No I didn't. Decus really lost it. And I did say I'd bring Martmart to Commander Brute. Have fun with Decus okay?" She giggled.

"Damn it Alice! I can't believe you!" Ichigo shouted.

"Getting mad at me won't solve anything. After all isn't your precious Fuji-chan missing too?" Alice asked. Her words pierced Ichigo's skin like an electrified knife.

"What did you do to Sheena?" Ichigo scowled.

"Oh nothing much really," Alice chimed, "I just locked her up and broke her spirit…and her arms and legs."

Whether it was on purpose or not Alice sent Ichigo over the edge with rage and he charged at her. Alice stepped behind the door and slammed it in his face. His sword came cutting down along the thick surface of the reinforced high-tech door. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIIIIIT!" Ichigo annotated each 'Dammit' with a sword swing against the door, it clanged along the side of it, doing no more than scratching it. The last 'dammit' had followed with a Getsuga Tensho, but Ichigo had done no more than make a two inch gash in the door. He, Virginia and Emil were locked in from the inside. _Damn it, damn it! I failed…I failed to protect her. _Ichigo's mind could only play images of the torture Sheena must've gone through. The pain and the agony that _he_ let her undergo because he hadn't stayed behind to help her. He imagined how she must've pleaded and longed for him to save her and now he was too late.

While the black garbed swordsman was having his emo moment Virginia and Emil were contending with Decus. The guy had managed to break his arm free from the wall and was now attacking both individuals. He noticed how Ichigo wasn't even paying attention and made to attack him.

"No! Ichigo!" Emil jumped in front of Decus, and without changing to Ratatosk mode drew his sword and attacked, slashing Decus down the left side of his chest. Decus retaliated violently and Emil flinched as Decus ruthlessly threw him out of the way. As he did a vial full of liquid went hurtling through the air as it sailed out of Emil's pocket. It clattered along the floor and broke. The stench that emitted from it was strong enough to snap Ichigo out of his funk.

"Oh god! What _is_ that?" Ichigo stood up and clenched his nose.

Decus recognized the scent and momentarily regained his sanity. The bottle that had broken was his Eau De Seduction that he had given Emil.

"What the hell Emil? I thought you were going to get rid of that!" Ichigo clenched his nasal cavities.

Emil, doing the same, responded with, "Well at least Decus isn't crazy anymore."

Decus bent down and picked up one of the broken bottle fragments. He looked at his reflection in the glass. "Decus?" Ichigo called his name.

"Huh?" Decus looked at Ichigo, "It's you, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly there was a thump from the wall that Virginia was standing near. Zelos' voice could suddenly be heard from behind it, "Hey! Colette, be careful!" he said.

"Oh dear I'm so sorry. I tripped again," she apologized.

Sounds of something resembling a car alarm could be heard going off from behind the wall, "Oh man the machine's going crazy." Suddenly the wall opened and Colette stumbled out onto her back. Zelos stood over her in the doorway.

"Colette! Zelos!" Emil called out to them.

"How did you two get here?" Ichigo asked, surprised to see them.

"We came here with my bud and his old man. Now come on Ichigo, let's go." He then took notice of Virginia. "Ooh, hey I remember you. You're the professor's elegantly beautiful mother aren't you?"

"Yes, I see you remember me," Virginia smiled at Zelos, "Zelos, right?"

"Hey why is everyone ignoring me?" Decus shouted.

"Because you're an idiot!" Ichigo whacked Decus over the head, knocking him out and tromped towards Zelos. "Glad to see you, let's get going."

"Yeah come on, follow us. Colette and I managed to seclude an empty room. We may have to fight our way back to it though," Zelos stated.

"Not a problem," Ichigo declared.

"Well, well, someone's fired up." Zelos commented only for Ichigo to rush down the hall Zelos and Colette had entered from and engage the Vanguard violently. "Did something happen?"

"I'll explain when we get to that room you mentioned," Emil said and switched to Ratatosk mode. "Right now we need to take care of some scum that need to be taught a lesson. Raziel! Gerios! Go!" Emil summoned the respective minions, but they were not the Gremlin and Lizard he had remembered.

"It seems our monster friends have evolved from the battles they have been involved in and also quite possibly due to the influence of Solum's core around the area." Raziel was now about half the size of Cotton and took a humanoid shape. He was also the color of a darkened plum, except for his claws and talons which were the color of Ichigo's hair. He had two large, bat like wings, horns, and a long tail. Gerios had evolved quite interestingly as well. He had since lost his chicken like appearance and his head now resembled that of an alligator's. He was covered in thick, brown scales and had spines on the tip of his stubby tail. Gerios stood about a foot taller than Raziel and retained his bipedal stance. "Raziel is now of the demon class and Gerios a Basilisk."

"Our monsters get more and more awesome each time the evolve," Ichigo commented.

"As I was saying," Emil's eye twitched, irritated by the delay, "Raziel! Gerios! Go! Attack!" the two monsters sped off to assist Ichigo. "Let's go you guys!"

* * *

**Storeroom**

After the battle, the group gathered themselves in a large storeroom to discuss what to do next. Ichigo was in a rather withdrawn state so Emil had to do most of the explaining, Virginia helped a little.

"I see, so Marta was captured," Colette was down.

"This is not good. If Marta's in enemy hands that means they can use the mana cannon," Zelos said gravely.

"And it's my fault!" Ichigo pounded his fist against the wall, "I was the one who said we should trust Alice! Dammit! And because of me…Sheena is also…"

"Huh? What happened to Miss Jubilees?" Zelos asked. Ichigo's response was to throw the nearest box into the wall behind him.

"Dammit!" Ichigo shouted pounding his fist against the wall again. Zelos' expression grew a rare stern seriousness. He walked over to Ichigo and breathed on his knuckles. Ichigo turned in Zelos' direction only to get punched in the face and sent flying across the room into a supply rack. Ichigo got up off his back. "Agh! What the hell Zelos?"

"If you're gonna have a pity party you can take it elsewhere," the red headed chosen said crossly. "We have a job to do. So get off your ass and let's go. We'll find Sheena. The Vanguard might be sick in the head, but they're not so stupid as to go and kill the Chief of Mizuho and I seriously doubt Sheena could've gotten caught by the likes of them. Miss Jubilees might be a klutz, but she's good at doing her job. She's not the type to just wind up a prison victim of the enemy. Take it from a guy who's known her a bit longer than you have." Ichigo looked at Zelos with the same cross expression. He walked over to Zelos. Emil flinched thinking the teen was about to pay back Zelos with his fist, but Ichigo just pat Zelos on the shoulder. Emil could see the resolve back in the black garbed swordsman's eyes.

"Thanks Zelos, I think I needed that. You're right. I can mope my failure later. Right now we have a job to do," Ichigo drew out Zangetsu and kicked the door right off its hinges. "Let's go." Everyone nodded and the group headed off to rescue Marta and find Sheena. They made their way through soldiers and monsters and then ran up a flight of stairs.

"I can sense Lady Marta on this floor," Tenebrae spoke out.

"Well then, let's have a look see shall we?" Ichigo asked and slashed open the nearest door. "Not here." He slashed open another one. "Not here!" He cut open another one. "Not here either!" He kept cutting down doors until they searched the last one, but still no sign of Marta. The group entered the last room, frustrated beyond belief

"Yo, Tenny what's the deal? She's not here" Zelos asked the black canine-like Centurion.

"Yes, it seems that way, but I feel her presence coming from this floor. I am sure of it," Tenebrae stated.

"Maybe there's a hidden door someplace, like how we found you guys," Colette suggested.

"Wait, someone's coming," Virginia suddenly spoke.

Ichigo didn't sense it, but he heard the sound of footsteps up inside the ceiling. Suddenly the air vent opened and a person dropped down from it. Ichigo was shocked as to who he saw. The person was a young woman with pineapple shaped black hair. She was wearing an brownish-red battle kimono and matching slacks. She was also wearing leather, fingerless gloves. She had a dagger sheathed behind the back of her neck and down at her left hip side. The woman stood up from her crouching position, revealing soft brown eyes and a well-endowed chest. "Sheena!" Ichigo ran towards her and embraced her tightly. Sheena's face turned beet red at having Ichigo hold her so affectionately. He also sounded like he was really worried about her. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Sheena had a right mind to push Ichigo off, yell at him for what he was doing here, tell him he shouldn't worry about her and that she can take care of herself, but she just couldn't do it. She wrapped her arms around Ichigo and held him. "It's okay. I'm okay." She told him.

"Don't scare me like that. I was so worried about you," he told her holding back tears.

"I know," she responded with a serene smile, "I know."

"Aww how cute," Colette clapped her hands together.

"As much as I hate to break up this touching reunion, mind telling us what the heck you've been doing Miss Jubilees?" Zelos asked.

Sheena promptly left Ichigo's embrace and whacked Zelos over the head, "I'll smack you for that."

"Ow, I think you meant that to be past tense."

"Seriously though Sheena what happened? Yoruichi-san said Byakuya lost contact with you midway through the operation and Alice said the Vanguard captured you. What really happened?" Ichigo wanted to know.

Sheena stood erect and explained. "The disarming of the bombs and evacuation was ninety five percent complete, but it was at that point that I noticed that Grimmjow character carrying an unconscious Regal with him across the air. I knew better than to engage that guy directly, so I did the next best thing. I tailed him and followed him to building number two. I watched him turn Regal over to Brute who looked pretty banged up having had to retreat from Urahara. I don't know where that crazy shopkeeper is now, but from the looks of Brute's injuries and the fact that he ran makes it blatantly obvious who had been winning that fight. I knew better than to engage the enemy right there, but at the same time I didn't want to risk the position I had managed so easily to obtain so I waited inside the building and sure enough here you guys are. Although, I'm surprised you're here Virginia. Speaking of surprises, where's Marta?"

"Little Lady Alice pulled a fast one on our chronic hero here," Zelos referred to Ichigo.

"Ok, that still doesn't explain why Raine and Genis' mother is here," Sheena said, "Although…wait Virginia, do the words Emerald Witch of Ymir mean anything to you."

"She _is_ the Emerald Witch of Ymir," Ichigo retorted.

Sheena chuckled, "Well I suppose Raine and Genis' talent had to come from somewhere."

"Indeed," Virginia agreed and then said, "In any case, Sheena, do you know where Marta might be? Tenebrae senses her on this floor, but we've checked every room and haven't found her."

"She could be in the stockroom. The only way in there seems to be from a hidden door in a room just around the corner here," Sheena stated. "If we go up into the rafter's from here we could get the drop down on the enemy."

"Sounds like a plan," Ichigo agreed. One by one the group leapt up into the ceiling. Virginia, who didn't have that kind of leg power, was flown up by Colette. The group ran across the rafters, which were surprisingly roomy as far as height was concerned, and followed Sheena to a room where upon they saw Marta tied up and being scolded by her father.

"Daddy! Why can't you understand?" Marta whined.

"No, it's you who doesn't understand! The Church of Martel is riling the Tethe'allans and trying to destroy the Sylvaranti. Or have you already forgotten? And let us not forget they are also responsible for the death of your mother! Now is the time for us to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty and to restore the pride of the Sylvaranti!" Brute declared.

Marta hung her head, "It's true that some of the people in the Church have done some horrible things," she looked back up at her father and spoke fiercely, "But so have you! You attacked Palmacosta and blamed it on the Church! If you have a problem with the Church or the Tethe'allan people, then you should've found some other way to resolve it!"

"Means and methods are insignificant in the eyes of justice," Brute scoffed.

"What justice?" Marta could not believe her father's repugnant claims, "You aren't interested in saving the people of Sylvarant! The only thing you want is to become king!"

Brute shook his head sadly, "You poor girl. But I know you're not to be blamed. Your mind has been affected by Ratatosk's core. Leave it to me, I will gather all of the Centurions' cores together…and then remove that cursed core from your body! Then together we will crush the Church of Martel and the Tethe'allans!" Brute began to leave the room.

"No! Daddy!" Marta cried out, "You're the one who's infected! Solum's core is warping your mind! Please wake up! Please stop doing all of these terrible things. Da—" the door slammed in Marta's face.

"Oh yeah he's gone," Zelos quipped, "Good luck trying to reason with that guy." Ichigo delivered a light chop to the base of the red head's neck. "Ow! Hey, I was just saying."

"All we need to do is somehow incapacitate him and retrieve Solum's core," Tenebrae spoke up, "Once Lady Marta has hatched it, most of the harmful effects should dissipate."

"Well we can start by rescuing Marta," Sheena stated.

"Indeed," Virginia said and launched an icicle spell at the vent cover, freezing it. Sheena then launched one of her patented seals at the cover and blew it apart. The noise got Marta's attention as one by one her friends dropped down from the ceiling.

"Someone call for some heroes," Ichigo grinned.

"Ichigo!" Marta lit up like a bright light bulb.

"Hang on just a moment, I'll untie you," Emil told her.

As he began to undo the knots Marta squealed, "Oh Emil you came for me. I knew you would."

Emil blushed heavily, but continued to work to free Marta.

"Dearest Marta am I glad to see you safe and sound!" Zelos spoke up. "If we lost you, I'm not sure the people of this world would ever be the same."

"That's a bit over the top," Marta felt uncomfortable.

"No, Marta dear. You simply don't know your own value. You are far more lovely than any blossom. You sparkle more brightly than any diamond," Zelos complimented.

"Sorry, Marta. Looks like the last of his screws finally came loose," Sheena chuckled.

"Was I talking to you Sheena?" Zelos hummed. "The only thing you got going for you is your chest."

"I'm gonna smack you for that!" Sheena shouted only to turn and roundhouse kick Zelos sending him flying across the room and into a bunch of stacked boxes.

"Ow! Hey that was a kick! Get your words straight!" Zelos shouted. He calmed down, let out a frustrated sigh and looked up at the ceiling, "Man, what is with this building? It's more like a fortress than an office. Is Lezareno making stuff that really needs this much protection?"

"I know Regal would never make anything dangerous. I'll bet whatever they make here is really fun!" Colette said with a big smile.

"What makes you say that?" Zelos asked, unconvinced. "The security in this place is pretty extreme."

Colette thought to herself for a moment before coming up with an idea that could give Orihime a run for her money. "I've got it! It must be for training spies!"

"Spies?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, that has to be it! I'll bet they're training an army of spies to hide in cardboard boxes and steal top secret info from rival companies," Colette deducted.

"Why cardboard boxes?" Marta asked confusingly.

"Slow down, Colette," Sheena told her, "Wouldn't that make Regal some sort of nefarious corporate overlord?"

Colette realized the flaw in her theory. "Ohhhh, I guess you're right," she came up with a new idea almost immediately and said with a bright smile, "Then they're training an army of spies to save the world from evil companies everywhere."

"Maybe we should just move away from the 'army of spies' theory," Ichigo suggested.

Suddenly Emil stood up and declared triumphantly, "There, got it!"

"Emil!" Marta grabbed him as she wrapped her arms around him so firmly.

"What? What's with the grabbing all of a sudden?" Emil asked arms still bent and hanging in midair.

"I'm just so happy you came for me!"

"U-uh…w-well…I'm just glad you're ok," he blushed.

"Emil?" Marta asked.

"Y-yeah?" Emil asked.

Marta looked at Emil with a disappointed look on her face. "Why won't you hug me back?"

"That's…I…" Emil was so red in the face.

"Meanie," Marta said disappointingly.

"On the contrary," Tenebrae said, slightly agitated, "I would argue that forcing others to watch your public displays of affection is considerably more cruel."

"S-sorry," both Marta and Emil apologized.

"Oh come on Tenebrae, don't be such a stiff," Ichigo told him. "And come on Emil show Marta you care."

"Um…I…"

Marta turned to face Ichigo. "Ichigo you don't have to force Emil to do something he doesn't want to—"

She stopped when Emil wrapped his arms around Marta from behind. Marta was surprised. Emil wasn't even blushing. His eyes were closed and he just had a content look on his face. "I'm…glad you're okay Marta." He told her.

Marta turned over in Emil's embrace and wrapped her arms tightly around him, "Oh Emil! Emil I knew you cared!"

"I wish I had a camera," Ichigo muttered to himself.

"How's this then?" Sheena whipped out a spell card, "Picto seal!" she waved it in front of the cute scene in front of her and the card became emblazoned like a photograph.

"Man I wish I could do that," Zelos said, "Then I could…"

WHACK!

"This is a special technique used for reconnaissance not for perverted fantasies you stupid perverted chosen!" Sheena shouted.

"If the theatrics are over could we continue along? We don't want to keep the others waiting," Tenebrae stated.

"Good point," Ichigo said and looked at Marta and Emil. "Come on, let's go you two."

The group headed out and walked down the hallway and up another flight of stairs. As they did, the elevator let out at the other end. From out of it stepped Kratos and the others. "Good seems like we moved at the right pace," the auburn haired crusader commented. "And it seems everyone's accounted for save Lloyd, Urahara and Regal."

"Well the only place we have yet to look is the president's office," Ichigo said looking up towards the fancy door at the top of the staircase.

"Indeed," Kratos agreed.

"Marta are you okay with what we're about to do?" Emil asked her.

Marta nodded, "Yes. I'm going to get my Daddy back! I'm sorry for dragging you all into this, but I'll need your help just a little bit longer."

"Don't worry, you've got it. Now let's go give your dear old dad a long deserved pummeling so that he comes to his senses," Ichigo began to make his way up the stairs.

"Is it just me or do I detect Ichigo to have issues with his father?" Kratos asked.

"No you're picking that up right. Ichigo and his dad don't get along all that well from what he's told me," Sheena scratched her head.

"I see," Kratos said before proceeding up the staircase.

When everyone was standing in front of the door Raine said. "Ichigo, would you do the honors?"

"Gladly," the teen said and charged spirit energy into his body and raised Zangetsu above his head, "Getsuga…Tensho!" The door blast right open and the group stormed into the room. "This is the end of the line Brute!" Ichigo shouted after the smoke and dust cleared.

"So you've come at last," Brute announced he grabbed his battle staff from where it lay against the desk and towered in front of the group as he stood on the raised platform where Regal's desk was.

"Daddy, I want you to give us Solum's core!" Marta shouted.

"Hmph," Brute brushed off.

Emil drew out his sword, "If you don't hand it over, we'll have to resort to using force. But I don't want you and Marta to have to fight each other!"

"You plan to take it by force? Surely you jest, boy!" Brute scoffed and then snapped his fingers, "Alice!" The young half-elf blonde came waltzing into the room, dragging a beaten up Regal. "Enough of these foolish games! The time has come. Hand over all the Centurion's cores you have, or your friend here dies."

"Brute is it?" Kratos spoke up, stepping forward. "You plan to force our hand using a hostage. Whether we comply or not you plan to kill him isn't that right? Do you really think the people of Tethe'alla are just going to accept the Sylvaranti just because they stand on equal ground? What you are doing is no different than the terrorism the Desians spread when the worlds were separated."

"This is completely different!" Brute shouted.

"No it isn't," Kratos stated plainly, "You try to prove your superiority through acts of violence and eliminating all who don't agree with your views. You were hunted and now you aim to become the hunter. It is no different at all."

"Shut up! You shut up!" Brute barked, eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Means and methods are insignificant in the eyes of justice!"

From out of sight Lloyd's voice called out, "Don't you ever start spewing the word, 'justice'!" The twin swordsman dropped down from the ceiling and knocked Alice away from Regal. Urahara then appeared next to the blue haired president, grabbed him and reappeared next to the group.

"Sorry, I'm late traffic was awful, you guys doing all right?" he asked.

"Heh so you teamed up with them did you?" Ichigo asked.

"I weighed my options and this was the best one," Urahara responded.

"Damn it all!" Brute shouted. "This is not the end!" His energy surged causing a heavy disturbance from the party. "I shall not be defeated!"

Magic circles appeared around the man. From them appeared a giant stump monster with a tree-like head, a sliver plant like creature with a humanoid form with blades for arms and a flower on its head, a gigantic lava hound, about as big as Terremotto, a black tentacle shaped monster with a jagged mouth and a red crest, a gigantic, blood red armored spider with a single eye, and a mechanized, beige golem with fire hydrant shaped fists. "Oh my," Tenebrae stated, "That's a Orcrot, a Laliah, a Cerberus, an Earth Eater, a Simoriah, and a Talos, some of the most vicious types of monsters in existence."

"Hiding behind monsters," Kratos was not impressed, "This will be over soon."

"You got that right," Ichigo said and went into Bankai mode.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Grimmjow's voice came out of nowhere as the wall to the left broke down and he appeared. His lost hand had been replaced with an artificial one. An exosphere was embedded in the palm of it.

"He really loves to make an entrance doesn't he?" Sheena asked.

"You have no idea," Ichigo remarked.

"It still will not be enough," Kratos was acting rather arrogant. "Do you really think one Soul Reaper and hollow hybrid, a few vicious monsters, Alice and you will be enough to defeat all of us?"

"I don't think I know," Brute said and then expanded out more of his energy.

"Kratos you're making him angrier!" Ichigo stated.

"That's the point. Once he's at full strength he'll have no excuses not to submit once he loses, wouldn't you agree?" Kratos asked Ichigo. That was something the teen could understand.

Grimmjow waltzed straight up to Ichigo, "You wanna take this outside?"

"Gladly," the two disappeared in an instant and reappeared outside the building.

"That is one dedicated rivalry," Sheena commented.

"Forget about that right now," Kratos stated, "The real battle is here."

"You're right," Emil said, and then switched to Ratatosk mode, "And by the time we're done I'll make sure that Brute understands the meaning of the word pain!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yes I would cut things off right there rather than go into a whole fight scene. It's gonna be an epic one that you won't soon forget. Still we got a lot in this chapter some MartaXEmil fluff, Ichigo breaking down and being emo before being snapped out of his funk by Zelos of all people, Kratos giving a Hannibal Lecture that we actually WANT to hear and some good old fashioned comedy thrown in the middle. Anyway, Ichigo and Grimm's rivalry has started up once again, while Emil and the others face off against the real threat: Brute. How will our heroes fare against the combined forces of Brute and his monsters? Or will the whole battle be anti-climactic when the combined forces of some of the more powerful heroes rip the Vanguard Commander a new asshole? Whatever the case may be you'll just have to wait for the next chapter of Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai!)**


	26. Identity Crisis: The Conclusion

**(A/N: Leave it to my all-time favorite song to pump me up for a chapter. Here we go)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** person pov**

"I assume you have a plan o great genius," Emil said to Urahara.

"Yeah, I've got a plan," the shopkeeper said and flared his reiatsu, "It's called kicking some serious ass."

Emil laughed deviously, "I like that plan. Tenebrae anything we should know about these monsters?"

"Other than the fact that they are all backed by the destructive force of Solum's core making them several times stronger than normal there's not much to say. You and your comrades are powerful enough to deal with them. Although I would advise against going one on one," Tenebrae stated.

"Very well then," Emil stated. "Everyone form up and choose an enemy, but Brute is mine."

"And mine," Marta stated preparing her spinner, only to remember it had been confiscated. "Er…"

Urahara suddenly handed Marta a weapon similar to the one she was using, but it had three prongs and they were all ancient looking. "I figured they'd snag your equipment so I picked this up. It's an efficient spinner called the millstone."

"Fearsome name," Emil commented.

"Right then," Marta equipped the millstone, "Here we go. You and me Emil."

"Actually Marta, let me take him alone," Emil told her.

"But…" Marta was disheartened.

"It's not that I don't think I can't protect you, but don't forget, this is your father. Your emotions will cause you to hold back. I'll leave him alive though, I promise. I won't do anything to cause you grief," Emil told her.

"Let your little pet do what he wants Martmart," Alice chimed, "After all, you did a good job at fighting last time. I'd like a rematch."

"You're on!" Marta scowled.

All the warriors formed up together. Lloyd and Kratos teamed up against the large, but defensive Orcrot. Yoruichi and Urahara fought the fast, but dangerous Laliah. Zelos and Sheena faced the big and brutal Cerberus. Genis and Regal, who was still in condition enough to fight, combined their efforts against the dreaded Earth Eater. Raine and her mother fought against the deadly Simoriah. Presea and Colette formed up against the Talos.

"Hmm," Emil thought, "I believe the odds could be stacked a little more in our favor." He snapped his fingers and Athenos, Zephyr, Terremotto, Raziel, and Gerios appeared. "Take a pair and stick with them. Fight alongside your allies!" Emil commanded.

The monsters understood and did as they were told. Terremotto went to help Zelos and Sheena. Gerios went to fight the Talos. Raziel went to help Yoruichi and Urahara, like they needed it. Zephyr, an enemy of the bug family, went to help the Sage women. Athenos chose to help Genis and Regal.

"Right then, now where were we?" Emil looked at Brute and then said with a confident smirk, "Oh that's right," he drew in energy, "I was about to kick your ass!" He launched forward at the commander of the Vanguard. "Heavenly Tempest!" Emil went spiraling through the air at the enemy commander.

"Field Barrier!" Brute blocked the strike and Emil was repelled.

"Not bad, Light Spear Cannon!" Emil thrust his sword forward and a burst of energy flew at Brute. The commander smirked and deflected the attack with his bare hand. _What? Without a weapon?_

"Too bad boy, but nice try," Brute channeled mana and attacked with a spell. "Eruption!"

"Ignis! Protect!" Emil coated his body in fire and protected himself from Brute's fiery spell. "Eat this you bald bastard!" Emil let out the energy he had conducted in a burst of energy. "Phoenix Rage!"

"Whirlpool!" Brute fired forward the watery energy at the fire, most of it was doused, but what remained Brute shook off as if it was nothing. "This is power of Ratatosk," the commander mocked. "Ha! You have five centurions and I have only one and I am more powerful than you? Pathetic!"

"Don't mock me!" Emil shouted. He ran forward and began delivering a flurry of strikes. "Sword Rain Alpha!" The strikes were blocked by a barrier conjured by Brute. Every strike was repelled, even the ending shockwave. _Damn it!_

"Fool, know thy place and eternal suffering be thy destiny," Brute chanted, "Violent Pain!" A dark magic circle opened around Emil as the dark tendrils posed to attack and engulf him.

"Tenebrae!" Emil shouted.

"On it!" the dark centurion replied appearing above the knight. He absorbed the dark spell into his system and fired it straight back at Brute, but the attack was blocked.

"Damn it he's too good," Emil grit his teeth.

"What's wrong Knight of Ratatosk? Is this your limit?" Brute scoffed. Emil growled and sneered. "Give it up. You were a fool to attempt to try and face me alone. What do you hope to gain by such a feat in the first place?"

"I swore to Marta, swore to her that'd I'd bring you back to normal. I also aim to prove that I am strong. If that guy in the bucket hat can injure you then so can I," Emil shouted.

"Fool, that man is a Soul Reaper with years of experience, you are a mere boy. Do you really think you have what it takes to stand up to me?" Brute asked.

"I do," Emil said with a determined look.

"So be it, die by your arrogant determination! Stone Blast!"

"Tenebrae," Emil said calmly, "offer me some of your energy."

"Can do," Tenebrae replied. The dark centurion gave Emil some of his energy and Emil radiated with battle energy.

"Dark Demon Fang!" Emil launched the dark energy at Brute. The commander blocked with a barrier, but this time it cracked. _Got you, _Emil said and rushed forward and put both hands on his sword. "Devil's Maw!" He slammed down in front of Brute and launched and explosion of force in front of the Commander. Emil realized all too late that Brute had created a more powerful barrier and then blasted Emil away with an energy beam from his staff sending the young swordsman sprawling away. Emil backflipped in midair and landed on his feet. _Crap, now what?_

"Fool, did you really think you could best me? No matter how hard you try you will never be strong enough to best me or break through my defenses," Brute declared.

"You arrogant bastard," Emil scowled, readying his sword again, but he knew it was fruitless. _If only I had more energy, just a little more power…more power? That's it!_ Emil stood in place and let mana naturally flow through him. _I'll beat him at his own game. _"By the power of Ventus I call upon the raging winds to smite thee! Hurricane!"

"What?" Brute had never heard of such a spell. And how would he? Such a spell was privy to the one, the only, Ratatosk. Brute was ripped through as shockwaves of air blades came in from all directions before a blast wave of air erupted from beneath him.

"Not so tough when your facing down techniques you can't defend against," Emil said and smirked, "Earlier you mocked the Centurions, but they'll be just what I need to bring about your downfall and shatter your defenses!"

"Don't get smug with me boy! Field Barrier!" Brute covered himself in his large hexagram arranged barrier, "Try and break your way through this!" he taunted.

"Oh believe me I intend to," Emil responded. He chanted again. "By the power of Tonitrus I call upon the souls of the unavenged to run my enemy through with the sword of their fury!" He unleashed the energy he had built up. "Take this! Final Punishment!" Lightning channeled from all around and zapped Brute's barrier until a giant sword of Lightning, bigger than the one normally seen in Indignation Judgment, slammed straight through the barrier and exploded. "Never tempt fate," Emil stated. Brute however was still standing, only minor scratches. "Well so you're still standing. Of course it would be boring if it ended just like that."

"Grragh!" Brute attacked with an energy beam. Emil dodged to the side.

_His defense is totaled so he's taking to the offense, excellent. _"Raining Fangs!" Emil fired the needle-like shockwaves.

"Spiral Flare!" Brute's spell collided with Emil's attack, but the swordsman wasn't about to let the match be fair.

"Dual Death!" Emil sent out two powerful shockwaves and then followed up with another arte. "Thunderous Tiger!" He performed a sideways revolution and let a stream of lighting shoot off his extended blade and impact with the ground. Brute was hit dead on. He got back up and he looked really pissed. "So I finally got you angry, good, maybe now you'll take me a bit more seriously."

Brute's eyes flashed yellow with rage, "You young fool. Don't underestimate who you're dealing with. I am Commander Brute Lualdi, descendant of the fabled King Sylvarant of the Sylvaranti Dynasty. I will not be bested!" Chaotic energy flowed freely from Brute.

Urahara landed near Emil momentarily to pass along a message, "Careful Emil he was pretty damn dangerous when he got like this the last time." He then went back to his own battle.

"Like I needed that advice," Emil chuckled. _It doesn't matter. I've got my own power within me. Time to show Brute what happens when I get serious. _"Fiend Fusion!" Emil flashed exploded outward with energy and covered himself in a powerful violet and yellow aura. Similar colored lightning sparked around Emil. _Let's see how Brute likes dealing with me when I fight with full force. _Emil let out a fierce battle cry and forward. Brute stood where he was and let out a wave of Chaos. Emil ran right through it as if it were nothing. Brute had the most surprised look on his face when Emil reached him. "Nice face." Emil laughed before slicing Brute up his front. The man backed away and unleashed another show of force. Emil stood his ground and flipped his sword behind his back. "Darkness devours! Ain Soph Aur!" The brilliant blast of light broke through Brute's attack and slammed into the Vanguard captain. He retaliated with a concentrated staff beam. Emil dodged out of the way, but Brute followed him with his attack and concentrated beam. Emil ran around and around, before ducking under the wave and shouting "Ventus! Support!" A fierce gust of wind blew behind Emil and he went flying towards Brute. "Havoc Strike!" Emil planted a kick right into Brute's stomach sending the man flying out of the president's office and into another room.

Brute teleported straight back into the battle. "That's it!" The commander slammed his staff down on the ground. "This has gone on long enough. I will show you…I will show you the full extent of my power!"

"Do your worst!" Emil dared, taking a defensive stance.

"Oh I intend to," Brute said as a crack formed in the ground beneath his staff, holding it firm in place. Brute held his hands out at his sides. "Darkness, death and oblivion," lightning began to surge around the bald commander. "Approach from the gates of chaos." Emil realized the energy surging beneath him all too late. "Ragnarok!" A blast of fierce energy exploded beneath Emil as he screamed out in pain.

Hearing Emil's scream Marta turned his attention to him momentarily. "Emil!" she stopped when she was forced to block Alice's incoming attack.

"Your battle is with me Martmart you shouldn't lose focus like that or it could cost you your life." Marta just growled and repelled Alice.

"Radiant Gale!" Marta back flip kicked Alice away and turned her attention back towards Emil where the battle was raging. "Emil," she watched though as his form still stood standing as the dust began to clear.

"That's impossible!" Brute growled.

"What's impossible?" Emil asked, "You said it yourself Brute. You have one centurion." Emil held out his outspread palm. "I have five. I'll admit you put on a good show. When your attack hit I'll admit for a moment there I thought I was screwed, but that's when I remembered that I'm not alone," More of the smoke blew away and a small lava dragon was near Emil along with a mid-sized white wolf, a green and blue griffin, and a dark mauve horse stood by Emil. Tenebrae was also nearby.

"Whoa," Genis took a moment to observe the spectacle, "Are those…?"

"The other centurions," Raine marveled at the sight.

"They protected me and they helped me turned the tide in our battle," Emil stated, "And now Brute, they will help me defeat you." Emil declared. He held his sword out at his side as all of the Centurions, save Tenebrae, began to fade into mana and disappear into Emil's blade. "I will show you that while you are indeed powerful that there is still strength in numbers." Emil held his sword down at an angle towards the ground. "Playtime is over Brute. I'm going to end it here," Emil declared. He unleashed a surge of energy, temporarily paralyzing the commander as Emil rushed forward towards the commander letting loose several furious sword strikes. "This is the final strike!" Emil tore through Brute, u-turned and front flipped exploding a massive pillar of energy in his wake. Brute was sent flying. Emil took the position of Ain Soph Aur, but a different technique all together was being channeled, "Take this! Devil's Hellfire!" Emil launched a monstrous violet and red energy blast at Brute, engulfing the man. The staff the man wielded shattered and Brute fell to his knees. All the monsters he had summoned disappeared in an instant and Emil called back his own servants. Marta was so wrapped up in the spectacle she had let Alice slip out the back. She grumbled to herself, but realized it was of little consequence. Emil's Ratatosk personified self, took a deep breath. "You can handle the rest from here." He switched back to his regular persona. He took one look at the damage to Brute and the office and just uttered in sheer amazement. "I did it."

Ichigo suddenly shunpoed back into the area. "What'd I miss?"

"Oh nothing, just the entire fight between Emil and Commander Brute, plus some fireworks, nothing too major," Urahara joked.

"What happened to Grimmjow?" Sheena asked.

"He ran off, something about meeting me at the conclusion. I have no idea what he's talking about though. If Brute's taken care of the mission's almost as good as won with regards to the Vanguard," Ichigo responded.

"Daddy, are you okay?" Marta rushed over to him.

Suddenly wild cackling could be heard from the doorway as Decus appeared. "Finally…finally I found it." He looked like a stir crazed psycho. He ran forward, ignoring the cuts and scrapes delivered to him by the party as if they were one inch scratches.

"Decus!" Marta was shocked to see him only to get tossed aside.

"Give me…the core!" Decus shouted at Brute. With unrelenting fury Decus plunged his fist into Brute's abdomen and tore out a seed shaped, brown object.

_It was…inside him? _Ichigo was wide eyed.

_How did he pierce skin like that? _Yoruichi wondered. _He's not an arrancar so he doesn't have hierro, but I can sense fierce, chaotic energy from him._

Decus held up the core. "It's mine…it's mine again. Ahahaha!"

Ichigo tapped Decus on the shoulder from behind. The crazed villain turned around only to get punched in the chest by the teen's fist. Decus went flying out of the office and through another wall, to god knows where. The core however, did not go with him and Ichigo scooped it up. "Thank you." He tossed it to Marta. "Here." Marta however didn't catch the core and it merely rolled to her feet.

"Daddy," she was in a daze looking at her father's fallen form.

Kratos' sixth sense suddenly picked something up. "Lloyd this way," he urged.

"Got it," Lloyd followed suit. Urahara, Yoruichi, Genis, Colette, Presea, Zelos, and Sheena followed suit.

"W-wait where are you all going?" Emil stammered.

"Guess Kratos must've sensed cleanup, we can let them handle it," Ichigo said.

"Somehow I don't think it's quite that simple," Virginia said. "You three should go. Raine and I will take care of Brute and Regal."

Ichigo nodded. He was about to leave when he noticed Marta still in a daze. "Hold up a sec Emil," he told the blonde.

He put a hand on Marta's shoulder, "Hey, snap out of it." he told her firmly. When Marta didn't respond he squeezed her shoulder a bit and she flinched and came out of her daze. "Right now we have a job to do. Your father will be fine. Raine's a good healer and you know how good Virginia is from watching. If she says your father will be okay then he'll be okay. We can't just stand around here moping. Our friends need us. I can sense conflict up ahead and I can only guess one person who'd still be at full power right now. So quit moping, hatch the core and let's go."

"I-Ichigo," Emil was intimidated by the teen's tone and choice of words.

However, though harsh, they snapped Marta out of her funk, "You're right, I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Ichigo told her.

Marta nodded and picked up Solum's core. She hatched it without delay. Suddenly all the monsters except Terremotto were forcefully summoned. Zephyr's body turned red and he grew out a long, crested beak. Athenos' skin turned blue and a golden, helmet like object appeared on his head. The stinger on his tail was replaced by feathers. Raziel's body turned dark blue as light blue blades formed on his arms and a similar colored crest coated itself along his forehead and arms. He was also now human sized. Gerios transformed as well. His head reduced in length to human sized. His body turned red and he was now about as tall as Ichigo. Rows of sharp teeth accented his mouth. "Well now it Athenos and Gerios have reached the final stages of their evolution. They now stand in the forms of a Sphinx and a Salamander. Most impressive. As for Zephyr and Raziel they are in their penultimate stages: A phoenix and an Archdemon." Tenebrae stated.

Ichigo chuckled, "Heh heh, we sure picked a couple of good monsters to tame. These guys sure look like the servants of a Knight of Ratatosk."

Emil switched to Ratatosk mode, flicked his wrist and desummoned the monsters. "In any case we should hurry up ahead. You sense it too, right Tenebrae."

"Sense what?" Ichigo asked.

"Aqua's presence," Tenebrae stated.

"So I was right, Richter is here," Ichigo stated. "Let's go."

The group charged in the direction of Richter only to come in on one ugly scene. Genis, Colette, Presea, Zelos, and Sheena were knocked out. Lloyd was down, using his swords to balance him and just to stay on one knee. Kratos was on the verge of reaching his limit too. Yoruichi was breathing hard and Urahara actually had a serious look on his face. The only enemy in the room was Richter.

"What the hell happened here?" Ichigo gasped.

"So, this is the power of the demonic realm of Nifilheim is it?" Urahara asked.

"Richter," Emil spat.

Richter took notice of the blonde. "Emil, I've decided that your form no longer matters to me. I will kill you."

"Good. So you have the resolve to do that do you?" Emil positioned his sword behind his back, charging mana into it.

"Emil, wait don't…" Ichigo tried to warn the blonde, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Darkness Devours! Ain Soph Aur!" Emil fired off the powerful blast of energy.

Richter crossed his weapons over his chest and blocked the attack. "This arte…this timing…so indeed…YOU ARE RATATOSK!" Everyone, save a few, were shocked at hearing these words. Emil himself was also surprised. The moment didn't last when Richter countered Ain Soph Aur shouting, "Eternal Recurrence!"

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo countered with his Bankai's Getsuga, having never left the form from battling Grimmjow. The attacks collided against each other and dissipated.

Emil switched to his regular self, "I…I remember…" he became Ratatosk again, "And then he…GAAAAH!" Ratatosk shouted out in agony, before he dropped to his knees and

"I will avenge Aster's death!" Richter shouted.

"So I see…I get it now. It wasn't you who killed Aster it was Ratatosk," Ichigo said.

"That's right," Richter responded.

"So you think means and methods don't matter as long as you get what you want? First you use Daddy to kill all of those innocent people, and now you want to kill Emil, who always believed in you?" Marta rebuked.

"Aster was also innocent!" Richter ran forward.

Quickly Ichigo leapt in front of Marta to block the strike, but was easily knocked aside. Richter's strength had improved greatly due to a currently unknown phenomenon and Ichigo was still woozy from his battle with Grimmjow. With the last of his strength Lloyd suddenly ran forward and attacked Richter with his Demonic Tempest attack. The glasses wearing dual wielder dodged the attack. "I cannot allow Ratatosk to be killed," Lloyd stated.

"Lloyd Irving! Why do you insist on getting in my way? Why does it matter to you?" Richter demanded out of the young twin swordsman.

"At this moment, I'm going to stop you as Emil's friend!" Lloyd shouted. "Demonic Circle!" Lloyd struck the ground with one of his blades and created a splash area of energy that quaked out towards Richter. The Vanguard member jumped and backflipped to avoid the shockwave, only to have to turn and dodge a midair assault from Kratos. Richter skidded along the ground, teeth clenched in frustration.

"It seems even the power of Nifilheim has its limits," Kratos commented.

"Got that right," Urahara said, now back to messing around, "Hado 63: Raikoho!"

Richter dodged to the side and narrowly avoided being hit. "Damn," he cursed.

"Aramis!" Alice called. Atop the floating creature was an unconscious Decus and a smirking Grimmjow. "Richter, let's go!" she urged.

Richter nodded. "Mortal Winter!" he shouted. A surge of water rose around him and he used it like a spring board and took to the air. Aramis lowered itself and Richter, along with his companions, escaped.

"Glad that's over," Ichigo sighed, "Emil are you all right?" Emil didn't respond, he merely slumped forward and fell unconscious. "Emil!"

Tenebrae appeared next to him. "He'll be fine soon enough. His memory has fully returned, possibly due to the awakening of Solum's core."

"Wait…so you mean…Tenebrae why did you lie?" Ichigo shouted.

"As his most faithful servant, I did what I had to in order to keep Ratatosk's identity a secret. However, now that the enemy knows that Lord Emil is Lord Ratatosk keeping him in the dark would only be detrimental to the mission," Tenebrae stated.

"Speaking of the mission," Urahara said, "We should return to the Altamira hotel and get some rest. A lot of us are pretty banged up from Richter wielding that ridiculous amount of power. I'll send word to the members of Soul Society to let them know what's going on. After everyone's recovered we should meet on the lookout in the Lezareno main office to discuss what to do next."

"Sounds like a plan," Ichigo said shouldering Emil over his back. He looked at Lloyd. "And what about you?"

"Hmm," Lloyd responded.

"You called yourself Emil's friend, I guess that means we're on the same side now?" Ichigo questioned.

"Got that right," Lloyd responded, seeming like his usual self.

"Good to know. We'll talk later. Right now we need to get everyone to the hotel," Ichigo told the red clan swordsman.

"Yeah, you're right." Lloyd agreed.

* * *

**A few hours later…**

Dusk was beginning to set over the horizon. Lloyd had recovered his strength and was now leaning on the not yet destroyed bridge by the Altamira tram way looking out over the sea. He stood there with his cheek resting against the palm of his hand while his other arm lay flat against the bridge as his fingers rapped the top of it.

"Lloyd," a kind voice called out to him.

Lloyd turned to see Colette standing there. "Oh Colette, are you okay?"

"Yes," she said and walked up next to him. "What about you, are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm doing okay," he said.

"You seem…back to your usual self," Colette said with a slight smile.

"Huh?" Lloyd was confused.

Colette explained, playing with her fingers, "When I first met up with you and Kratos you were still really cold, but I was just happy being at your side, even though I didn't fully understand what you were trying to do. But when we were at the Vanguard base and when we were at the building just now, you acted like the Lloyd I remember," She looked at him with a forelorn face, "The Lloyd...that left me six months ago."

Lloyd looked ashamed. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"It's okay. I just want to know…I just want to know…why did you leave me?" Colette asked, looking sad.

Lloyd turned to face the ocean. "While I was keeping watch Kratos showed up…

* * *

_Flashback_

_**Lloyd's pov**_

_I sat in front of the tent doing my best to stay awake. Whenever Colette and I were out on the open road I always sacrificed sleep until we made it to town to make sure she was protected. We had been at this journey to find and destroy Exspheres for a year and half now. As I sat in front of the dying campfire I noticed a presence. I stood up and reached for my swords only for Kratos to show up._

"_Kr-Kratos…what are you doing here?" I was shocked to see him here. I thought he was in Luin taking up mercenary jobs._

"_Lloyd there's something I need to ask of you," Kratos said, "I know it's quite selfish for me to ask something of you after everything I've put you through but…"_

_I shook my head, "No, go ahead." I was trying hard to hide it, but I was actually excited that Kratos was asking for my help for something directly. The fact that he needed my help meant that he not only trusted me, but that he also didn't think he could do it alone._

_Kratos sighed and explained to me about Ratatosk and the Centurions and then asked. "Do you understand?"_

_I scratched my head, "I think so…basically this Ratatosk or whatever his name is using these Centurions to control mana. By why tell me that?"_

"_Because the mana is currently going out of control and the Centurions seem to be in a slumber. Ratatosk should've reawakened when the worlds were reunited, but from the state of things he appears to be in a deep slumber. Haven't you noticed climate changes as you've travelled?" Kratos asked me. I really hadn't. I never paid any attention to that sort of thing. He sighed, "Well there are and they're drastic. To put a stop to this…_

_End Flashback_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

"Kratos explained to me about collecting the Centurions cores to stop the chaos from continuing. He then asked if I could leave you and the others out of it," Lloyd told Colette. "I agreed without hesitation."

"But why?" Colette pumped her fists.

"Everything will be explained tomorrow Colette, please be a little patient. Just know that…I never meant to hurt you," Lloyd said.

Colette wrapped her arms around Lloyd from behind, "It's okay. I know that. I'm just glad you're back here with us. I'm just glad that you're still you."

Lloyd turned around, looking wet in the eyes. "You dummy."

"Huh?" Colette was surprised at Lloyd's choice of words.

"What are you trying to do make me cry?" he asked.

"It's okay to cry, sometimes tears are the best medicine," Colette told him.

"You're the only one I'd let myself cry for," Lloyd told her and then pulled Colette in for a hug. "Thank you. It was so hard being without you."

"Yes, for me too," Colette nuzzled into Lloyd's embrace.

"I love you, Colette."

"I love you too, Lloyd."

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Emil woke up feeling sore all over. He clutched his forehead. "Where am I?" He remembered Richter's words.

"_I will avenge Aster's death!"_

"I'm…Ratatosk?" Emil asked himself.

Tenebrae appeared, "Lord Ratatosk." He said in reference to Emil.

"I'm Emil," Emil said defiantly as he stood up only to have to sit down. "Ow, my head."

"I'm sure you've remembered it all by now," Tenebrae said.

"I remember being killed by Richter. But how could that be my own memory? Ratatosk's core is on Marta's forehead!" Emil shouted, getting back to his feet.

"On the night of the Blood Purge, you hatched from your core in response to Lady Marta's cries for help. By placing a fake core on her forehead, you were able to turn the enemy's eyes towards her and away from you," Tenebrae explained.

Emil was horrified, "You're saying I did that so they'd go after Marta instead of me?"

"Yes," Tenebrae confirmed.

"That's horrible!" Emil looked away from the black centurion.

"Having just awoken, you needed time to regain your former strength. And the power you once possessed has started to return, little by little," Tenebrae stated.

Emil was silent for a moment before he clenched his fists in anger and squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't believe this. I was using a girl to save myself. A girl who told me she loved me! It's cruel!"

Tenebrae could sense the repressed animosity in Emil's voice. "You may have been cruel. As Lord Ratatosk, that is."

"Huh?" Emil opened his eyes.

"But the part of you that is Lord Emil has given everything to protect Lady Marta. And I detected no calculation or self-interest in that," Tenebrae responded.

"Tenebrae…" Emil was comforted by the Centurions words.

"This is of course one Centurions' impression," Tenebrae said in reference to Aqua's choice to sever her bond with Ratatosk, but Emil wasn't alert enough to pick up on it.

Emil and Tenebrae walked out into the hallway from the hotel room. Ichigo and Marta were waiting.

"Emil, are you okay?" Marta asked him.

"Marta. Who am I?" Emil asked her with melancholy eyes.

"Emil…"

"Tenebrae says that I'm not Emil. But I have memories of my childhood. Vivid memories with my mother and father!" Emil cried out.

"Memories can lie. They were added after the fact, so you could play the part of Emil more convincingly," Tenebrae answered.

"Tenebrae stop this!" Ichigo chastised.

"As I said before, now that the enemy knows Lord Emil is Lord Ratatosk, it would be dangerous to keep him ignorant of his true identity. And as a servant of Lord Ratatosk, it is my duty to keep Lord Emil safe," Tenebrae explained.

"I know that," Ichigo chided, "but at least give the kid a moment to catch his breath!" Tenebrae was instantly quiet.

"Emil," Marta said to the blonde, "Daddy wants to talk you, will you come?" Emil was surprised that the Vanguard commander wanted to speak with him, but agreed to it all the same. "Good, he's downstairs. We'll go together."

The party proceeded into the elevator and headed down to where Brute was lying in bed. Virginia was in the room as well, keeping him company. "Oh Virginia, you're here too?"

"She's been healing him and keeping him stabilized," Marta said. "She said she's going to wait here until he's well enough that the authorities can transfer him to Meltokio's prison."

"Oh, I see," Emil said.

"Mr. Lualdi," Virginia said, "Emil is here."

"Tell him to come closer," Brute groaned. Virginia urged Emil and the others forward. Emil stood right at Brute's bedside. The man definitely looked like he had seen better days. Emil could hardly believe that he had been the one who had inflicted most of those injuries. "Emil, I want to thank you for saving my daughter," Brute told him.

"I-It's fine," Emil stammered, "I'm sorry though…for what I did to you."

"No apologies are necessary," Brute said, "It's thanks to that that I was able to come to my senses."

"That and Decus ripping the core out of your gut," Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck only for Marta to elbow him in the gut for making a snarky remark in such horrible taste. "Ow."

"What did you want to see me about?" Emil asked.

"I hear that you are close to Richter," Brute said to him.

"Sort of," Emil stated.

"I know I've done many terrible things, but allow me to give you one warning. The one who fashioned the Vanguard into the militant organization it is now was him. Do not trust Richter. I'm not saying this as an excuse for what I've done. I have a deep hatred for Tethe'alla and the Church of Martel. I founded the Vanguard for my own reasons. But if it wasn't for Richter, the Vanguard would have never attained the sort of power it now wields. His words had a strange quality to them. A strong pull that I couldn't resist," Brute stated.

"So does that mean that Richter was the one who gave you the power of Solum's core?" Ichigo asked.

"It was indeed," Brute stated, "I've ordered the surviving Vanguard members to lay down their arms. I'm sure most will follow my orders. But there are many others still loyal to Richter. They may regroup and thrust our world into chaos once again."

"Well then we'll just kick their asses," Ichigo stated outright.

Brute laughed and then coughed. Virginia stood up. "I'm afraid I must ask you to let Mr. Lualdi rest now."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Come on Emil we should go to the terrace at the main office. Everyone's waiting for us."

"Okay," Emil agreed passively.

"Good luck," Brute told them.

* * *

**Omake**

As Ichigo, Emil and Marta walked forward, Emil's pace slowed. Tenebrae appeared. "Lord Emil is something the matter?"

"It's nothing really…I was just wondering…Tenebrae what form does Ratatosk take?" Emil asked.

"What do you mean?" Tenebrae asked.

"Well…I mean you kind of look like a dog and Aqua looks sort of like a Mermaid, so what does Ratatosk look like?" Emil asked.

"Actually the form Lord Ratatosk takes on is…is…" Tenebrae couldn't finish his statement and just began chuckling to himself.

Suddenly the ethereal form of a three foot tall tangerine squirrel with glowing red eyes, sharp fangs, bull horns, jagged claws on both its hands and feet and yellow, red and green symbols covering its body appeared and materialized. "Tenebrae you don't!" It shouted. Emil took a step back in shock. "I specifically told you never to tell my other self about our animal form and especially not to start laughing about it either!"

"Um, I'm standing right here," Emil piped up.

"I know," Ratatosk responded, his bushy tail rattling.

"Now, now Lord Ratatosk, your other half would've found out about your animal form sooner or later whether you had liked it or not. And after all we are Centurions; there is absolutely no shame in having an animal form that is considered more adorable or peculiar to the outside world. Also there are many intimidating features that squirrels have," Tenebrae said.

"Yeah well I find that hard to believe," Ratatosk shot back, "All the time back before Cruxis was formed it was always the same thing. I'm sick of this crap I will not tolerate—"

From out of nowhere Marta grabbed Ratatosk and hugged him, "Aww, it's so cute!"

"…being treated like a stuffed animal," Ratatosk sighed.

"Your fur is so soft," Marta pet Ratatosk. "Tenebrae can I keep it?"

"No," The centurion responded.

_Marta, _Emil thought feeling slightly heartbroken

**End of Chapter**

* * *

**(A/N: LOL sorry I was waiting for a good excuse to use that particular gag. For those of you who aren't getting the joke ****In Norse mythology, there is a large tree that connects Earth, heaven, Valhalla (where the gods lived), and Neibelhiem (where the demons lived). This tree is called Yggdrasill. In its branches there is a large Eagle and within its roots, there is a ferocious Dragon. Now, the Dragon and the Eagle hate each other, but they can't actually meet because they're guarding the pathways to the different realms. So, they have a small squirrel run between them to pass insults to one another, and that squirrel runs up and down the tree all day long. This squirrel is called Ratatosk. Yes. That means, that Ratatosk, The Demon Lord (as called by Richter), the Summon Spirit, and the Creator of the Centurions is a squirrel. You never actually get to see Ratatosk in the game, which is endlessly annoying. However, it would be rather anti-climanic if you saw a squirrel on the screen. The omake and the above information are all courtesy of Cherry-sama on deviantart. Anyway there's more important things about the chapter than just the omake, like the fact that we got to see Ratatosk Emil actually being a badass and defeating Brute single handedly, plus a cameo of the other Centurions. Also we got some cute Colloyd fluff and now it's out in the open that Emil is Ratatosk. I know I already knew that going in, but it still gives me chills every time Richter does that line about Emil being Ratatosk. The story is reaching its epic conclusion. I've got to get to class so I'll see you all later!)**


	27. Lloyd Unmaked For Real This Time

**(A/N: We are on the home stretch. I think I might be able to finish this series in 3-6 chapters. Well anyway, here we go)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Ichigo, Marta and Emil made their way to the terrace where everyone was waiting for them, including all the Soul Reapers.

"Oh, Emil, Ichigo, Marta," Lloyd was the first to take notice of the trio.

"Good now that they're here we can discuss how we're going to deal with Richter," Byakuya stated.

"Why what's he doing?" Emil asked.

"He's gone to the Otherworldly gate," Hitsugaya explained.

"Why would he go there?" Marta asked.

"Because that's where the entrance to the Ginnungagap is located," Yoruichi stated.

"The legendary rift between worlds?" Raine was intrigued.

Urahara nodded, "Yoruichi, Kon and I did a bit of reconnaissance while you were all playing hero."

"But wait Matsumoto-fukutaicho and I did research on Ratatosk and we didn't find that information at all," Rukia stated.

"It's more than likely that the information is outdated," Kratos stated, "After all most of the records existed only when the world was split so it's not a far cry to suggest none of them would have the Ginnungagap's current location."

"It's as Kratos says," Urahara confirmed, "Richter has been using the power of demons from the demonic realm of Nifilheim in order to get to the door."

"Demons?" Emil questioned.

"Richter's been making pacts with the demons of Niflheim in exchange for their power," Zelos responded.

"Can he do that?" Ichigo questioned.

"He used them to attack us so it seems he can," Lloyd answered.

"That's ridiculous! The demons of Niflheim would not give their power without receiving something in return," Tenebrae scoffed only to think over his words for a moment and add, "Wait. If Richter seeks the death of Lord Ratatosk that would be in their interest."

"How so?" Hitsugaya wanted to know.

"The Ginnungagap is protected by Lord Ratatosk's existence. So long as Lord Ratatosk is alive, the demons are unable to open the gate," Tenebrae answered.

"So Richter's borrowing the power of the demons in exchange for killing Emil, huh?" Renji concluded.

"Am I really Ratatosk?" Emil slumped forward, "I still can't believe it."

"It's only natural that it wouldn't seem real to you. Your current personality is a fabrication put together by Lord Ratatosk. Lord Ratatosk's own memories are kept by the side all of you know as his 'Ratatosk Mode'." Tenebrae explained.

Marta grew angry. "Don't call him a fabrication!"

"I know it's hard to accept Marta, but what Tenebrae says is most likely the case," Raine told her.

"Raine has thought from the very beginning that Emil's personality was established to protect another identity within himself," Byakuya backed up Raine's assertion.

"So you think Emil isn't real, either?" Marta snapped.

"I think both of his personalities are as much Emil's as they are Ratatosk's," Presea stated.

"I can't believe this," Emil slumped forward.

"I know this is difficult for you…but this is reality," Ichigo placed a hand on Emil's shoulder.

"So I'm…Ratatosk?" Emil said meekly.

"I think Kratos and I can shed some more light on Emil's questions," Lloyd stated.

Kratos was hesitant. "Lloyd do you understand what you're suggesting? If we bring Ratatosk inside the field then…"

"Ratatosk has a right to live Kratos. I'm sure the others will agree with my side of things," Lloyd argued. Kratos was silent. "If things don't work out we'll go with your original plan, but I want to give this a shot. I can't be certain it won't work unless I try to see if it will."

Emil was surprised to hear one of his own mantra's coming from the red-clad swordsman, "Lloyd."

"Then I suppose we'll go to the world tree. It's about time we pulled away the curtain in front of the stage for the others to see anyway," Kratos stated. Lloyd nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled we'll go to the site of the world tree," Ichigo stated.

* * *

**Remnants of the Tower of Salvation**

**Ichigo's pov**

When we came to where the Tower of Salvation used to be I had to admit I wasn't expecting the lush green garden-like area we stumbled upon. It was misty in the area, but once we got through it the surprise from my seeing the area like this was overshadowed by the two people I saw standing in front of the sapling that was the new world tree.

"Nel! Yuan!" I ran up to the front of the group. "Wh-what are you two…?"

"Surprised to see us?" Nel questioned with a big smile on her face. "Yuan and I have been directing Kratos and Lloyd from behind the scenes."

"Kratos came by last night and explained to us the situation," Yuan said, "I am to understand that we may be cooperating with Ratatosk."

"Please," Emil stepped forward, "Tell me what's going on. What do you know?" he was practically demanding that Yuan tell him everything.

"Emil, what do you think you are? The Summon Spirit, Ratatosk? Or are you a human?" Yuan asked him.

Emil held his hands against his chest, "Well…I want to be…human."

"What's the purpose of trying to figure out what Emil really is? Even if there's some other personality inside of him, Emil is still Emil!" Marta argued. She was really adamant about this.

"That's what we would like to believe as well," Nel responded, "That Emil's human kindness is also the kindness of the Summon Spirit Ratatosk."

Emil hung his head, "So I guess that means I really am Ratatosk."

"Essentially, that is true. Lloyd, Kratos, Nel and I have been working to prevent Ratatosk from wiping out humans and half-elves," Yuan stated.

"So you were trying to get rid of Emil too?" I scowled.

"No it's not like that at all Ichigo," Nel pleaded.

"We can't actually kill Ratatosk," Yuan explained, "Without Ratatosk, the Ginnungagap would open, and our world would become Niflheim's domain. We must make sure that never happens."

"The one who originally gave us this mission was Martel herself," Nel stated, "Originally she had employed the mission to Yuan alone, but he asked for Kratos' and my help and Kratos by extension employed Lloyd."

"Our plan was to convert Ratatosk and the centurions to their core states and use Martel's power to create a permanent seal upon the door," Kratos stated.

"Why didn't you just tell us this?" Colette asked, "We could have helped."

"And the soul society would've done its best to help as well since the faster the problem with the centurions was solved the sooner we could work again from the shadows," Rukia interjected.

"We couldn't let Ratatosk know anything about what we were trying to do. Ratatosk has a vast network of monsters," Lloyd explained.

Yuan explained Lloyd's statement in further detail, "It wasn't safe to discuss our plan except near the World Tree. The Tree is impervious to Ratatosk's influence thanks to the new name it received. Had Ratatosk known that we received these instructions from Martel, he would have sought the Tree's new name and then stolen it away from her. From what I heard from Kratos, at best, all he ever told you was that we were planning to use Martel. A dangerous loophole, but it seems to have worked. For if Ratatosk gained possession of the tree, we would have no means to oppose him. And all of you already know the name of the World Tree."

"That doesn't mean we would have said anything!" Rangiku interjected.

"That was my fault," Nel stated, "I didn't want the risk to be taken that the department of development and research may have already learned the tree's name."

"Nel brings up a valid point," Byakuya acknowledged, "Kurotsuchi-taicho does indeed know about the world tree and how it functions. Also further documentation regarding Aselia was presented to the Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 after the first time we were here."

"Still I don't even remember the name," Renji scratched his head, "I think I may have gone over it once, but it's not there in my mind when I try to recall it."

"But you mustn't forget the cores. They're beacons for ill intent that can cause their owners and everyone around them to go mad. If you were affected, you could've easily spoken the tree's name without meaning to," Yuan explained.

"But what about Lloyd and Kratos? They were gathering the cores and more importantly Kratos used Lumen's on more than one occasion," I input.

"I was given Martel's protection as the giver of the world tree. Kratos and Yuan are angels of Cruxis. Because Nel didn't have any protection we kept her here while Yuan kept an eye on her while Kratos and I went core hunting," Lloyd answered.

"But wait a minute. Why are you telling me all of this right now? Don't you remember? I'm Ratatosk," Emil spoke out.

"Because we want to believe in you Emil," Nel responded.

"Believe…in me?" Emil tilted his head.

"Think about it Emil," Lloyd said, "Have you ever even once enjoyed hurting someone? Even as Ratatosk's true will began to show itself, Emil didn't disappear. We want to believe that that has meaning. That Emil is not an artificially created personality. It's another spirit within Ratatosk: his conscience."

"So in other words you're willing to take the risk that Emil may not go mental if he fully reawakens," I said.

"That's a risky plan, but with us here if Ratatosk does go berserk we can easily put him back down," Toshiro spoke out.

"True," Kratos said, "but of course if Ratatosk remains docile there's no need for us to seal him within the Ginnungagap."

"Kratos is right," Lloyd responded, "That's why I've decided that I'm going to protect Emil and Ratatosk's conscience. Maybe together we can find a way for everyone to live in peace." He held his hand out for Emil to shake it. Emil was hesitant for a moment, but then shook Lloyd's hand.

"Thanks Lloyd," he said.

"So what's the plan?" Yoruichi-san wanted to know.

"We have to merge Emil and Ratatosk's personality as a single entity. If Emil's personality is able to survive, then Ratatosk will no longer be our enemy," Nel explained.

"But if Ratatosk survives then it's lights out for our friend here," Urahara-san said and sighed, "Either way the problem gets solved, but I really don't like these odds here considering Ratatosk's willpower." I understood what he meant. Emil always had trouble taking back control from Ratatosk when his aggressive nature was in control unless it was a time of extreme emotion.

"I have a question what will happen to Emil's memories if his personalities merge into one?" Rukia wanted to know.

"We have no idea. Maybe only the stronger of the two will remain, or they could mix together," Kratos responded.

"Wait a minute. So you're saying there's no way to find out! Well, that's just the same as telling Emil he could die!" Marta cried out.

"That's why we asked Martel if there was a good way to do this," Yuan stated. "Her suggestion was to seek out the Summons Spirit of the Heart and let Emil speak with him."

"Verius," I said softly as I looked down at the rose colored ring on my finger.

Nel took out a wing pack, "I've got a good bunch of Rheairds with me. They'll be much more efficient than travelling on monster back or by walking on air."

"Nel you're coming with us?" Genis asked.

"Of course, why not?" she smiled.

"Glad to have you along," I smirked.

"You're not coming?" Raine asked Yuan.

"I wish I could," he said, "Someone needs to keep watch over the tree at all times. Since Kratos and Lloyd are already going with you that just leaves me to stay here since I am the only one left with Martel's protection."

"Isn't that kind of boring?" Renji scratched his head.

"Renji I've lived longer than most soul reapers. A couple of days and months go by like the blink of an eye," Yuan retorted.

"I suppose your right," Renji smirked.

"Anyway, let's get going," I declared.

"Before that, there's just something I want to say…to Lloyd that is," Colette spoke up.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked her.

"Welcome back," she told him.

Lloyd flushed, "Thanks," his red cheeks faded. "Sorry I had to be rough with you guys though."

"Hey we figured you had your reasons," I said, "but still, you gotta let us join in the fun too."

"I plan to from now on," Lloyd grinned.

"Please count on us," Presea told him.

"Yeah, now that we're not spending all our time worrying about you, we can really focus on the task at hand," Sheena stated.

"I don't know," Genis hummed, "Having Lloyd around might give us more to worry about?"

"What was that?" Lloyd snapped.

"Still, given Decus' actions, you will most likely face persecutions and aspersions wherever we go," Regal told Lloyd.

"I'll just have to work hard to win back the trust I've lost one day at a time," Lloyd responded.

"Well you've got ours back, so that's a start at least," Rangiku declared.

"Yeah," Lloyd said and let out a relieved breath. "It sure feels good to be back everyone."

* * *

**The Skies of Aselia**

As we flew over the skies, Sheena clutching to me on the Rheaird I was driving, Nel drove hers close to ours. "What's up?" I asked.

"I have to apologize for something else to you personally," she said.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm the one who told Grimmjow about Aselia," she said. "We're old friends from our days in the Espada and since we face persecution from the other Arrancar and hollows I told him that he should seek out this place for he may find his destiny here. I never imagined he'd choose to spend his days working to destroy this world that I've worked so long to protect."

"Wait you and Grimmjow are friends?" I asked.

"Yes, most of my memory has returned over time, and so I've remembered a lot of what we went through together as arrancar. I thought I could try to point him in the right direction, show him that there's more to life than blood and carnage, but it seems he's still the wild warrior he always will be," she told me.

"Warrior? Wait a minute you once told me that you considered Nnoitra a beast. What's the difference between that guy and Grimmjow?" I asked.

"A very good question," Nel said, "but it is one with a simple answer. It is because Grimmjow fights with honor. He never leaves a debt unpaid and he doesn't take advantages in battle. He fights with his raw strength and is determinate and defiant to the end. He lets his morals drive him, not his blade."

"That's pretty deep," Sheena commented.

"Ichigo…if possible I would prefer if Grimmjow's life were spared, or perhaps if I could be the one to fight him this time. I want him to come to his senses," Nel told me.

"Assuming he'll let you. That guy has been after me since he first knew about me, freaking psycho," I grumbled.

"He seeks the strong and attempts to crush those who look down upon him. He despises being pitied and underestimated," Nel explained. "He is a proud, yet savage, warrior."

"You respect him don't you?" I asked.

"Huh?" the bewilderment in Nel's face was cute.

"It's easy to see the bond you two carry with each other even when in conflict," I looked on ahead. "I wish I could've known the Grimmjow you know rather than the psycho after my life."

"Grimmjow does not despise you Kurosaki Ichigo, he is your rival. He seeks to be the only one allowed to defeat you. He will not be satisfied until one of you falls to the ground," Nel told me.

"I won't take his life," I said.

"You wouldn't have to if it came down to it," Nel responded, "In your third clash you left Grimmjow with enough strength to stand on his feet. In your fourth clash you set the bar higher for him to reach so that you can fight on equal ground. In the fifth clash the power he was using was unstable. Until one of you is unable to walk away from the fight. So that you have so little power left in you that all you can do is lay there and breathe, for Grimmjow, your rivalry must continue."

"But when we first met…"

Nel cut me off, "When you first met you were strict enemies. Grimmjow was attempting to eliminate you to assist Aizen. Now it's just a matter of finishing what was started."

"Isn't there another way for those two to settle things without any bloodshed?" Sheena asked.

"There is one way, but it's rather unlikely," Nel stated.

"I'd like to know it anyway," I said.

"If perhaps there were an enemy that forced you two to cooperate with each other and Grimmjow was unable to defeat it, but you were he would concede to your strength. As long as you didn't pity him after the fact for losing, his hostility towards you would drop considerably," Nel explained.

"You sure know a lot about the guy. Just how close were the two of you?" I asked.

Nel completely ignored my question and said, "Oh, it appears we're landing."

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Everyone dropped down onto the ground and we proceeded up the staircase towards the Martel temple.

"We spent so much time on foot I'd forgotten how handy Rheiards can be," Genis said, at ease.

"Hey I agree with you for once shorty," Zelos said, "I've always said a beautiful creature like myself belongs high in the majestic sky."

"You? Beautiful?" Genis said disbelievingly, "The dictionary in your brain must have its definitions reversed."

"Why you little…"

"Settle down you two," Yoruichi laughed, "Although I must say I've never flown on anything quite like a Rheiard before. It was an interesting experience."

"I think we were doing just fine on foot," Marta brooded.

"Is the Rheiard not to your liking Lady Marta?" Tenebrae asked.

"No it's just…I mean…what keeps a hunk of metal in the air like that?" Marta griped.

"It's thanks to Wiener's law!" Colette said happily.

"That's 'Werner's law,' Colette," Raine corrected.

"Yeah, but there's nothing protecting you," Marta argued, "If you fall, you'll die!"

"Marta are you afraid of heights?" Emil asked her.

"Of course not," she said defensively, "I just don't understand why everyone's in love with the stupid Rheairds that's all."

Yoruichi laughed, "Oh come on Marta that is such a transparent fib."

"I am not fibbing!" Marta stomped off to head inside. When everyone caught up with her Dirk was in entrance room of the temple.

Dirk saw Lloyd and Kratos and a bright smile crossed his face, "Good to see the two of ya. I take it that being here with everyone means that things have all worked out?"

"Almost," Lloyd said, "Dad I hope you don't mind looking after Noishe for a little while longer."

"Of course not," Dirk stated.

"Speaking of Noishe, how is he? Is he well fed, well mannered?" Kratos asked.

"Kratos?" Ichigo was confused.

Dirk laughed heartedly, "He's doin' fine. I'm sure he'd like to see ya though. You are his original master after all."

"Original master?" Emil was now joining in the confusion.

"Noishe…has lived as long as I have," Kratos said.

"Incredible, so I was right," Tenebrae materialized.

"What do you mean Tenebrae?" Ichigo asked.

"I had believed the possibility that it was possible that the one you call Noishe was a rare type of monster called a Protozoan," Tenebrae stated.

"Proto-what?" Emil asked.

"Protozoan," Lloyd said, "Kratos explained to me about it. Noishe is a rare type of monster that changes forms as he evolves over time. Eventually he's supposed to evolve into a human that fights evil," Lloyd stated.

"Right now he's in the Arshis statge," Kratos stated, "In this stage a protozoan takes the form of a quadruped canine like monster. Noishe takes the form of an Orion."

"I see, so that's why he so closely resembles one," Tenebrae said, "but why is he so docile? It was my understanding that Orion's were a proud, rather brave race."

"There was…an incident where Noishe became afflicted with serious injury. He's been skittish around monsters ever since," Kratos explained.

"Wow, I had no idea," Ichigo said.

"So when does Noishe evolve again?" Rukia wanted to know.

"It's possible that he may not," Kratos answered, "As you know monsters grow and evolve when they are exposed to the power of Ratatosk or as they fight and gain experience. Noishe did some fighting when he was with us during the Kharlan war, but since the splitting of the worlds he didn't do much of anything in terms of combat. And now that he's become sensitive to monsters it's possible he may never fight again. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Noishe _is_ the last of his kind."

"That is quite a shame. The Protozoans were such a wondrous race ten thousand years ago," Tenebrae sighed.

"Indeed," Kratos stated.

"In any case let's not forget the reason we are here," Hitsugaya spoke out. "Verius is here, correct?"

"He is," everyone, save Sheena, was surprised when Ichigo spoke out. "Sheena and I came here during the journey after we got Glacies while Seles was resting." He held up his hand and showed the ring he got from Verius. "That's how I got this."

"I was under the impression Verius didn't form pacts," Kratos stated.

"He doesn't, this is proof of a partnership," Ichigo stated.

Kratos folded his arms, "I see. You're rather lucky to be entrusted with such a trusting bond."

"Kratos, you had a partnership with Origin didn't you?" Byakuya asked. Everyone was shocked at this.

"Indeed, Mithos upheld the pact, but I held the seal of the partnership. Of course now that responsibility has been passed on to all of you," Kratos stated.

"In any case, let's go see Verius," Lloyd said. Everyone nodded and agreed. As the group headed for the Chosen's altar so they could head for Verius' altar Emil noticed that Marta wasn't moving.

"Marta, are you ok?" he asked her. Marta turned around, not saying anything. "Marta?"

"It's nothing okay, just go, I'll be along in a second," she told Emil.

"It's not nothing," Emil said a little bit louder than he had intended. He calmed down, "You can tell me Marta. You can tell me anything."

"I know, but…you probably won't like what I have to say," she said.

"That doesn't matter," Emil said outright.

Marta sighed in defeat and turned to face Emil. "Okay then here goes. I don't want you to go away. I mean it. But if your personality stays, that means Ratatosk will disappear, right?"

"I guess," Emil responded.

"Ratatosk saved me just like you did," Marta told him.

"Right, I know," Emil replied with a nod.

"Lloyd said that every single person is important because we're all different. So what about Ratatosk? You're very important to me, but I don't want Ratatosk to disappear, either," Marta told Emil. This time he didn't respond with his voice, but with deep breath and a brief closing of the eyes. Marta turned back around. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being awful. I know telling you this is only going to give you more things to worry about."

Emil opened his eyes and still spoke calmly, "No, not at all. I've been worrying about it too." Marta was surprised at this. "I'll work something out I promise."

"Hey you two, what's the hold up? We can't start the show without the star!" Zelos called.

"Right sorry, coming!" Emil called he ran up towards and past Zelos to catch up with the group. Zelos was about to turn and go, but then he noticed Marta moping around and dragging her feet. He leaned against the wall and waited for her to reach him.

"Hey now, Marta my sweet," He piped up, "You look as though you've put your foot in your mouth and didn't much care for the taste."

"Leave me alone Zelos," she huffed.

"You took a question you haven't even answered for yourself and piled it on Emil's shoulders. But you knew you were doing it as you did it and you regret it. Am I wrong?" Zelos inquired.

"What do you mean? What question?" Marta said getting snippy.

"I mean the one that goes 'Let's see now, which Emil do I like the best?', right?" he questioned.

"Y-you're wrong!" Marta shouted at him, "I-Both Emils are important to me! After all, they're both…" Marta hung her head and her voice left her.

Zelos knew what she was going to say though, "They're both Emil. You're not mistaken there. That's why it's hurting you so much."

Marta started getting flustered, "But then what should I have done? I knew what I was saying was unfair, but I couldn't stand to have the other Emil just disappear."

"If that's really what you think, you should stand by it," Zelos told Marta. "If that's your true feeling, then be straight with it. Don't say things to Emil that you'll only regret as soon as they leave your lips. He's got more to deal with than any of us. If you honestly don't want to lose any part of him, then you did the right thing in saying so. Both personalities are Emil. It's only natural for you to fall in love with both. They're the same person. All that's left is to believe in him, and wait."

"Your right…thanks Zelos," Marta said and happily skipped away

* * *

**Omake**

After Zelos caught up with Emil he pulled him aside. "Hey Emil, a word."

"What is it?" Emil asked Zelos.

"It's just you never hesitate to ask Ichigo for his opinion and now that you've met Lloyd he's like your regular best bud, so why don't you ever come to your old buddy Zelos for advice?" he asked.

"Well I just didn't think to do so…is that bad?" Emil asked.

"I'm not calling it 'bad'. I just don't get it is all," Zelos replied.

"Well it's not like I don't value your opinion," Emil reasoned. "But not only are you the chosen, you're also older than me. I guess I was a little intimidated."

"It's ironic that someone called the 'Chosen One' would have self-esteem issues," Tenebrae laughed.

"I could seriously have you roasting on a spit right now," Zelos snapped.

**End of chapter 27**

* * *

**(A/N: Poor Zelos, guy just can't win. Anyway not a lot of action going on in this chapter, just a whole lot of character development [even for characters that weren't on screen]. The final battle is drawing ever closer, which means so is the end of this fic. On top of that the school year is almost over for me too. I wonder what will get done first the school year or this fic. Well anyway I got some work to do so see ya).**


	28. The Last Night

**(A/N: Like I said it is my goal to possibly finish RotS before my summer vacation starts [May 8****th****] so I'm just gonna keep pumping out chapters till I finish. This chapter is LONG and there is a special R-rated surprise at the end ^o^. Also I apologize in advance for the excessive length of this chapter)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

As the group approached Verius' altar the fox-like summon spirit appeared. "I see you have returned, my partner." He looked at Ichigo. Ichigo nodded.

"Verius, we're here because…"

"I know, I can read your hearts like open books," the vulpine summon spirit replied. The creature looked at Emil. "Ratatosk…no, Emil. I see your heart is a very sad color right now. You are conflicted."

Emil hung his head, "I…"

"To accept my help requires a heart that has no conflict within it. Once your heart has made its decision, Emil, I will give you my help. So please give careful thought to how it is you wish to live," Verius told him.

Ichigo scratched his head, "What do you mean?"

"I will protect Emil's heart in the manner it desires. However, he is still undecided as to what he wishes to do. He needs time," Verius stated.

"That is true," Rangiku agreed, "A decision like that would need time."

"I shall appear and lend you my power when you wish me to. Let us meet again when you have come to a decision," Verius said and vanished.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you all the way out here," Emil apologized to the group.

"Don't sweat it," Ichigo pat Emil on the shoulder, "You're the only one who can solve this issue. Besides Richter can't open the gate unless you die so we have time."

As if in response to the orange haired teen's words the ground started to shake. "Waah! It's an earthquake!" Genis shouted.

The tremors died down moments later. "What was that?" Zelos asked.

"I don't know," Yoruichi responded, "But something feels off."

"I know what you mean," Renji said, "It's like there's a guillotine of negative energy hanging over our heads."

Suddenly Emil dropped to the ground, screaming out in pain. "Emil!" Marta and Ichigo shouted at the same time crouching down next to the blonde summon spirit.

"This awareness is—The door to the Ginnungagap is about to open!" Tenebrae said with wide eyes.

"But the door should remained closed as long as Ratatosk is alive! What's going on?" Hitsugaya wanted to know.

Tenebrae had an epiphany, "The Vanguard! That's what Richter was using them for!"

Emil switched to his Ratatosk persona, "Stop it! Stay away from that door! Don't touch it without my permission!"

The strong energy being given off from the monster master was enough to make Ichigo and Marta back away from him. "Lord Ratatosk is holding back the demons trying to enter! If only he had all the Centurions under his will and regained his full power, this would never have happened."

"Emil, is there anything we can do?" Lloyd wanted to know.

"Actually there is," Ratatosk roared. He drew out his sword and attacked Kratos at the waist. The Auburn haired crusader dodged to the side.

"Wh-what are you doing Emil?" Lloyd shouted.

The Summon Spirit ignored Lloyd's query and attacked relentlessly, making wide, powerful swings. He then tackled Kratos with his right shoulder. Kratos backflipped, but the scant few moments he spent in Zero gravity caused a small, white, seed shaped object to clatter along the ground. Kratos' mouth hung open slightly as he realized what it was Ratatosk was after. Ratatosk picked up the seed-like object and hoisted it over his head, gripping it tightly. "Lumen! Obey me!" he shouted. The yellow seed-shaped core transformed into the orb like object, with Lumen's crest on it, which then dissolved into Ratatosk's being. Ratatosk then slumped forward and collapsed on the ground.

"Emil!" Ichigo ran over to the blonde and shook his back.

"It's okay, he's only fainted," Raine said, checking Emil's pulse.

"It seems like things have calmed down with the awakening of Lumen," Tenebrae said.

"But I thought the door to the Ginnungigap couldn't be opened as long as Ratatosk was alive," Presea said.

"Lord Ratatosk has lost some of his Centurions, so his power has dropped accordingly. In addition, the Vanguard has been spreading the type of negative energy the demons love." Tenebrae said.

"The violence around the world," Raine realized.

"Correct. The scent of blood has loosened the restraints on the door. This must have been Richter's intent from the beginning. For now, Lord Ratatosk is just barely managing to hold the door closed. But if the situation does not improve, the monsters will break their bonds with the Centurions and this world will become one with Niflheim!" Tenebrae explained.

"Tenebrae do you have any idea when Emil will wake up?" Ichigo asked the Centurion.

"Unsure, but no more than a few hours I would say," Tenebrae stated, "Awakening a Centurion in order to force back the demons from escaping Nifilheim was rather taxing for Lord Ratatosk to say the least."

Ichigo hoisted the summon spirit onto his back, Piggy back style. "Then I'm going to take Emil to Luin and let him rest."

"And why should you go alone?" Sheena asked.

Ichigo looked up at the ceiling, "I get the feeling that when he wakes up that Emil will have made his decision. I have the power of Verius with me so it'll make it easier to channel his help. Right now we should split up and prepare for tomorrow."

"That's not a bad plan," Urahara said, "I'm going to head for the Otherworldly gate and see if I can't get it to open."

"Couldn't we just use Ratatosk's power?" Lloyd asked.

"We could, but do you guys want to be stuck in there?" Urahara asked.

"Good point," Lloyd submitted.

"Then it's settled we'll all split up and take care of loose ends we need to tie up," Renji stated.

Suddenly Cotton began to glow and Zephyr and Raziel appeared near Tenebrae, also glowing.

"It appears Raziel and Zephyr are entering their final stages of evolution," Tenebrae said.

"What about Cotton?" Rukia wanted to know.

"Penultimate," Tenebrae answered.

When Raziel transformed his body was now a violet red. He had glowing talons and claws and blade like protrusions along his arms. The claws on his wings also glowed. He was now as tall as Sajin Komamura. Cotton's body became Chocolate brown and she grew and extra tail, which then extended to cat length. The tufts on her tails and ears were strawberry pink and a light pink collar of fur formed around her. She was also now a few inches taller than Ichigo. Zephyr became so large his head almost touched the ceiling. He shed his red feathered exterior for an all green one. He became encased in golden armor along the front of his face, the back and mid portions of his wings, his ankles, and halfway down his back.

"Whoa!" Ichigo exclaimed at Zephyr in particular.

"Rukia, we need to talk about that…thing you plan on keeping," Byakuya told her.

"Behold!" Tenebrae announced, "Raziel is now a Level nine class demon called a Vroom. Zephyr is a level nine class bird monster known as an Izimbra and Cotton is now a level six class beast monster known as a Peallaidh."

"I must admit when we first got these guys I never imagined they could look so incredible," Ichigo exclaimed.

"Indeed," Tenebrae said and then hummed, "I recall when you first believed that the monsters we gathered weren't the type that looked like they were going to save the world."

"Well they were back then," Ichigo stated, "but now," Ichigo whistled his approval, "This is awesome!"

"At any rate, we need to head out and prepare like you suggested Ichigo," Kratos reminded the group.

Everyone agreed, Tenebrae resealed Zephyr and Raziel, and the group began to head for the temple exit when Marta and Sheena approached Ichigo. "What's up?" the teen Soul Reaper wanted to know.

"When Emil wakes up, could you tell him to meet me at the Altamira bridge by the theater after nightfall?" Marta asked.

"Sure, no problem," Ichigo said.

"And when you're done looking after him, meet me at Mizuho," Sheena told Ichigo.

"Sure thing," Ichigo agreed.

As the group began to head out of the temple they heard Dirk shouting, "Oh hell no! You ain't entering the church!"

"That's my dad's voice!" Lloyd shouted. The group proceeded to the base of the temple to see Dirk contending with a group of hollows and other creatures without masks or hollow holes, but had piercing yellow eyes and rows of sharp teeth.

"Demons!" Tenebrae realized.

"Hollows too!" Rukia noted.

"Dad! Hold on! I'm coming!" Lloyd leapt into battle and began attacking.

"Howl! Zabimaru!" Renji attacked a group of hollows.

Without unsealing his Zanpakuto, Byakuya entered the fray and began attacking hollows as well.

Kratos also entered the fray, attacking some of the demons. The battle became so furious that suddenly the hollows and demons began to retreat into gargantas and portals only for another garganta to open high up in the sky. A penguin like head peered out from it as bony white hands pulled open the garganta so that it opened all the way to the ground as a gigantic hollow stepped through the garganta.

"A menos," Ichigo gasped.

"I'll take care out it," Hitsugaya drew out his Zanpakuto, "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!" The blast of ice went striking furiously towards the Menos and obliterated it. After its destruction, it seemed like the battle was over.

"Where did all those demons and hollows come from?" Rangiku wondered.

"The earthquake must have been caused by the negative energy emanating from Niflheim through the opening in the door of the Ginnungagap," Tenebrae explained.

"The hollows must've been drawn here by the demonic energies," Urahara stated. "If it wasn't for our delicious looking friend here they might have destroyed each other."

"Are you talking about Dirk?" Genis asked.

"That does make sense," Nel said, "Hollows are drawn to strong spiritual pressures, but they favor humans and humanoids most of all. If Dirk hadn't been here it's likely we would've witnessed the obliteration of one side at the hands of the other."

"Even with that said I wouldn't have wanted to deal with Demons that had absorbed hollow powers," Zelos commented.

"You didn't even fight to begin with," Sheena chastised, "But I get what you're saying."

"Me too," Rukia agreed, "And I can say for certain that I wouldn't have wanted to see what would happen if Hollows devoured the souls of demons."

"I bet Captain Kurotsuchi would've loved it though," Renji smirked.

"Mmm, perhaps we should've let at least one hollow or one demon kill the other so that we could bring it back as a gift," Urahara joked.

"In any case, I'm going to take Emil back to Luin. Tenebrae mind coming with and summoning Zephyr?" Ichigo asked.

"Not a problem," Tenebrae said. He summoned Zephyr's seal sphere and unleashed the gigantic golden bird. Ichigo loaded himself and Emil onto the large winged creature. "Please take us to Luin." Tenebrae instructed.

Zephyr responded with a cry and beat his powerful wings to propel himself into the air. He then headed for Luin.

* * *

**Emil's pov**

**Location Unknown**

"Hey!" a voice called to me. "Wake up dammit!"

_Ichigo? _I thought groggily, but when I opened my eyes I was nowhere I recognized. My surroundings were all white, save for the swirling strands of various hues of red, green, purple, yellow, brown, black, gray and orange. I sat up from the fetal position I had been lying down in. "Where am I?" I wondered aloud.

"Where do you think?" I turned around as I heard a voice, only to see another me.

"R-Ratatosk?" I questioned, surprised.

"Bingo," he responded.

"I…where is this place?" I asked.

"Where do you think, moron?" he asked me and then said without waiting for me to answer, "We're inside our head."

"What?" I was surprised.

"Anyway that doesn't matter right now, what matters is what we're going to do about this whole situation," Ratatosk folded his arms.

"Why did you attack Kratos?" I shouted.

"Puh," he spat, "What's wrong with me taking back what's rightfully ours?"

"No, that's wrong!" I shouted at him. "I won't let you hurt our friends."

"The only ones I care about are Marta and Ichigo. Everyone else can go die if they choose to stand against us," my counterpart told me.

"That's not right!" I argued.

"It doesn't matter what's right or wrong anymore you idiot!" Ratatosk scolded me as he placed one hand on his hip and threw the other out at his side, "Richter opened the door!" he shouted and then glowered at me with a scary smile, "The only way we can prevent another attack like that is for me to regain my power!"

"No," I shook my head defiantly, "There is another way."

"You fool!" Ratatosk leaned forward fists clenched, "Why would you consider that?"

"Don't you see?" I asked, "You and I need to atone for what we've done."

"Are you stupid?" Ratatosk growled with his teeth grit in hate. After growling for several seconds he then exploded at me with, "Do you understand what you're saying?"

"I do," I said with a serious look. I looked up at the nonexistent ceiling of my mind's world. "Verius!" I called out. "Lend me your power! I know that you can see what my heart has decided."

"Yes," I heard Verius' voice, "I understand."

A white light began to envelop the Ratatosk me, and I could feel myself being pulled into full consciousness. I opened my eyes to a familiar ceiling. I sat up slowly and looked around. _This is…my room._

I then heard arguing going on in the hallway, but what surprised me about the arguing was that I could hear Ichigo's voice. I opened my door a crack.

"I'm saying how could you treat your nephew like that?" Ichigo shouted. "It doesn't matter where he came from or how he acts Flora. He's your sister's son!"

_Ichigo..._he was standing up for me in front of my aunt and uncle.

Without turning in my direction Ichigo said, "Emil you don't have to hide, come on out."

Sheepishly I opened the door and walked out into the middle of the hall. "U-um…" I started to stutter, but couldn't find the right words.

"W-Well what is it?" Uncle Alba wanted to know, getting defensive.

"I…um…"

"Come on you're a man, speak up," Ichigo quoted Marta.

I took a deep breath, "I…Aunt Flora…Uncle Alba…thank you…for everything you've done for me."

"You can't possibly mean that," Uncle Alba said disbelievingly.

"That's not true!" I said with conviction, "I mean, it's true that I hated you, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate you taking me in. I…during the journey…I wanted to come back and give it another try...for us to be like a real uncle and nephew," I shook my head, "No, a real father and son, but there's no more time for that now. That's why I wanted to at least come and say goodbye." I walked towards the door depressingly, "Come on Ichigo…"

"Emil, wait!" Aunt Flora called out. I turned to look in her and Uncle Alba's direction.

"We heard rumors of you stopping the revolt in Altamira. I don't know the details, but it seems you've gotten involved in some serious matters. You wanted to say goodbye. I assume that has something to do with whatever's going on?" Uncle Alba asked.

I turned around and nodded, "Yes."

"Then you should come back here to Luin, after you're done with all of that." Uncle Alba put his arm around Aunt Flora, who smiled at me. "That way your aunt and I will have a chance to give it another try."

"I…" I couldn't speak. They were going to try, even though there was no chance of me coming back from all this, the fact that they were going to try just made me feel happy.

"We'll be waiting for you to come back home," Aunt Flora smiled.

"Aunt Flora…Uncle Alba…thank you," I smiled and then walked out the door. I walked over to the fountain, where Lloyd's statue was.

"Emil, what's all this goodbye stuff for?" Ichigo was scowling at me.

"I…well…"

"Hmm?"

"I'm the summon spirit, Ratatosk, remember?" I hung my head, "Once we go to the Ginnungagap, I'll have to stay there." That wasn't the real reason, but I knew it was one Ichigo would accept.

Ichigo sighed and understood. "So that was what that was about? Is your other self okay with becoming the guardian of the door?"

"I…yes," I nodded.

Ichigo smirked, "Well all right then." I smiled back at him. After a few moments of silence Ichigo said. "What's say you and me take a trip around the world?"

"A trip around the world?" I tilted my head.

"Well since you'll be confined to the Ginungagap you won't be able to get out much. You might as well have a good picture of the world in your mind while you can hold onto it right?" Ichigo asked me.

I smiled wider. "You're right," I agreed. "Let's do that."

"Well okay then," Ichigo said. "Tenebrae."

"Yes?" Tenebrae appeared.

"Call out Zephyr, we'll use him for transport," Ichigo requested.

"As you wish," Tenebrae stated.

"Wait, aren't we going to wait for the others?" I asked.

"They split up," Ichigo said as Tenebrae gathered Zephyr's seal sphere in his tail. "We're all going to go to the Otherworldly Gate tomorrow and take an assault on Richter."

"Okay," I said only to notice a huge shadow overcast on me. I turned to see Zephyr looking huge. "When did Zephyr get so gigantic?"

"Impressive huh?" Ichigo asked with a smirk, "He reached his final stage of evolution after you passed out."

"I…I see," I said, still trying to take in Zephyr's massive size.

"So let's go," Ichigo and I climbed onto Zephyr and we took off.

* * *

**Asgard**

At Asgard, Ichigo and I walked around the town. We walked up to the stone dais and found Rukia there.

"Hey what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked her.

"Fixing things," she said.

"Fixing things?" I tilted my hand.

"Stand back," she said and drew out her sword as she faced the dais, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia unsealed her sword, "Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!" She covered the stone dais in ice. "There, that should do it."

"Should do what?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm cleaning up the mess you made of the dais. Can't have hapless tourists falling into that hole now can I?" Rukia asked.

"And you think covering with ice is any better?" Ichigo questioned.

"I think it's better than just leaving it be, hopefully the townspeople will come by to fix it up soon," I smiled.

"See Emil agrees with me," Rukia charmed.

"Whatever," Ichigo grumbled.

"Okay, your turn. What are you two up to?" Rukia asked.

"We're taking a trip around the world…so that I can have it engraved in my mind for when I stay in the Ginnungagap," I said.

"Heh, that sounds like a good idea," Rukia agreed.

"Well anyway, we want to get this trip done before nightfall," Ichigo stretched.

"Why nightfall?" I asked.

"Oh right, sorry, forgot to say that," Ichigo scratched his head and turned around, "Marta wants you to meet her on the bridge in Altamira by the theater after nightfall."

"Oh, I see," I said. _Marta…_

"Ichigo why don't you go on ahead? There's something I want to say to Emil," Rukia told him.

"Huh? Sure," Ichigo said and went to the town entrance.

"What is it Rukia?" I asked.

"I heard about what happened with Aster," she said.

"Oh…I see," I said.

"Emil…don't go letting that bother you. That's in the past. Even if your soul feels tainted don't let it drive you into a corner you can't pull away from," Rukia said, "Don't end up like me."

"Um…okay," I said.

"Good as long as you understand," Rukia said.

"I'm gonna go catch up with Ichigo," I said and headed for the town entrance.

* * *

**Palmacosta**

Upon arriving in Palmacosta we saw Genis in the town square. "Hey, it's everyone's favorite kid genius mage," Ichigo called to him.

"Oh, Ichigo, Emil. What's up guys?" Genis asked.

"We're going around seeing the world since I might not be able to once I regain my powers as a summon spirit," I told Genis.

"Oh yeah, you're a summon spirit. That must be weird," he told me. I gave a consenting sound of agreement.

"So how come you're here in Palmacosta?" I asked Genis.

"I wanted to see how Palmacosta was coming along ever since what happened with the giant tree. The last few times I was here construction was being done and people were living out here in tents," Genis stated.

"Oh…I see," I said.

"Where's Raine?" Ichigo asked Genis.

"My sister went to Sybak to do research," he answered, "I don't know what she's up to, but Raine gets a little funny sometimes when she's doing research."

"Sybak, eh?" Ichigo questioned.

"So what do you think of how the town's been rebuilt. All my memories are fake, so I don't know if the town is the same way it was," I slumped forward.

"Well the only real difference is that there aren't as many tall buildings. During our journey, I'd have to say Palmacosta was the third largest and most industrialized city. Meltokio and Altamira are much larger," Genis answered.

"Yeah no kidding," Ichigo agreed.

"Nice seeing you guys," Genis told us. "Hope you guys will be ready for tomorrow."

"Oh we will," Ichigo clenched his fist, "Count on it."

"Heh, same old you I see," Genis chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo scowled.

"Nothing, nothing," Genis laughed, "Anyway see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya," I said.

* * *

**Sybak**

Since we knew Raine would be in Sybak we decided to go there next. We found her sitting on a bench with a book in her lap. "What are you reading?" Ichigo asked her.

"Oh, Ichigo, Emil, what brings you two to Sybak?" she wanted to know.

"I want to etch the world into my mind, so I don't forget. Ichigo's keeping me company. How about you? Genis told us you came here to do research," I responded.

"Yes on the Ginnungagap," Raine answered.

"I thought Urahara-san was doing that so we can get into the damn place," Ichigo stated.

"There's nothing wrong with a little extra research," Raine said, "I'm a researcher. I'm curious. So far most of what I'm finding are bits and pieces. I can't imagine what Urahara and the others must be doing."

"Others?" Ichigo questioned.

Raine nodded, "Whatever he's up to, he adamantly requested that Miss Shihoin, Byakuya and Captain Hitsugaya help him out."

"Ah," Ichigo responded.

"By the way Ichigo, if you wouldn't mind could you go inside there's a book on one of the taller shelves inside that I can't reach," Raine handed Ichigo a reference card, "Mind fetching it for me."

"Sure…I guess," Ichigo went inside the library.

"Good, now that he's not around," Raine said, "Emil there's another reason I'm researching the Ginnungagap."

"Huh? There is?" I questioned.

"I'm hoping I might find something to be able to help you," Raine said and paused before adding, "How should I put this? I get the feeling you're going to make a tragic decision."

I tried to deny it, "I…I wouldn't…I…"

"I won't tell Ichigo. Getting him riled up would jeopardize the mission, but during the last journey, I witnessed many people suppressing their emotions all for the sake of the mission, much like I get the feeling you're doing now," she told me. "You're not alone in this. Don't think we want you to suffer for our sakes. Open your heart and trust us."

The door to the library opened and Ichigo handed the book to Raine, "Here you go."

"Thank you Ichigo," she told him.

"Anyway," Ichigo turned towards me, "You wanna head to the next town."

"Yes," I nodded.

"See you tomorrow you two," Raine told us.

* * *

**Meltokio**

When we got to Meltokio Zelos noticed us straight off when we reached the noble districts. "Yo, Ichigo, Emil what's up?"

"We're going around the globe so I can etch the world into my mind before I regain my full power," I said.

"Heh, gotcha," Zelos said and then added, "Man I'd hate to be in your shoes right now."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're a summon spirit, someone's arch nemesis, and the destroyer of the world. Talk about an identity crisis," Zelos remarked.

"That's not funny," Ichigo scowled.

"Oooh, scary," Zelos mocked, "but seriously just because that's the way things are doesn't mean it's worth getting bent out of shape about it. No matter how much time you spend thinking about it, in the end, you can't erase your feelings. So it's okay to wait until the last moment to decide. Don't go and set your sights on dying like some sort of tragic hero." My fist unconsciously tensed. "That's all I wanted to say. I'll leave the rest to you. Whatever you decide, I'll back you up."

"Me too," Ichigo told me.

"Ichigo…Zelos…thank you," I said.

"So Ichigo when are you going to ditch the kid and have some alone time with your girl?" Zelos asked Ichigo.

"That is really not your business," Ichigo snapped.

"You should really think about lessening the tough guy act once in a while, it's not as scary as you think," Zelos told Ichigo.

"Whatever," Ichigo brushed Zelos off, "Let's go Emil."

"Right," I nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Lloyd's house**

"Where are we?" I asked Ichigo.

"This is Lloyd's house," Ichigo told me.

"This place? But it's so far from Iselia, isn't wandering through the forest dangerous?"

"It is, but that's never stopped Lloyd," Ichigo told me.

"What are we doing here anyway?" I asked. Ichigo grabbed the handle of my sword and drew it out. He swung it once.

"Oh yeah this thing has seen better days. Look at all the chips, dings and scorch marks. You definitely need a new sword," Ichigo told me. "Wait here. I'm going to go ask Dirk to forge us a new one."

"H-Hold on a minute, if it's my sword, I should pay for it and…"

"Hey this is my way of being courteous to a friend, besides," Ichigo said and drew out a small gald pouch and tossed it up in the air a few times and caught it with his hand, "I have." I realized that that was the gald that my Uncle Alba gave Ichigo for slaying the monsters. "Wait here okay. Or rather, don't leave the grounds."

"Okay," I agreed.

While Ichigo went inside to talk to Dirk I walked around the foundation. Lloyd seemed to live pretty comfortably. As I turned a bend I noticed Kratos standing over a gravesite. "Oh, Kratos."

He heard me and turned around, "Oh, it's you Ratatosk."

"Um…Kratos…could you please call me Emil…I…"

Kratos sighed. "I understand. Although that identity is false, it is important to you because it is what separates you from your other self."

"I…yes," I nodded. I walked closer to him. I looked at the headstone. "Who's Anna?" I asked.

"This is…where Lloyd's mother is buried," Kratos stated.

"O-oh," I sighed, "That's right…your Lloyd's real father." Kratos and I stood there silently for about a minute.

"Emil," Kratos said and broke the silence.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Do not make the same mistake I made. Running away from your sins doesn't help anyone. It may solve the problem, but it doesn't help anyone except yourself. Besides, if I know Lloyd and Ichigo as well as I should they'll never agree to it," Kratos told me.

"H-huh?" I was confused.

"I was once in your shoes. I tried to run away from my problems and forced myself into a corner where being killed by my companions was my only solution," Kratos told me.

"But…you're still here," I told him.

"Only because I am human and I was lucky. If you attempt to go the same route I did, I do not believe that same safety cushion will exist," he told me.

"I…"

"Oh, Kratos, I didn't realize you were here," I heard Ichigo's voice.

Kratos and I turned to face him, "I was visiting Noishe as Dirk suggested and I am also paying my respects to Anna."

"I see," Ichigo stated, "You should talk to Urahara about possibly going to Soul Society and see if you can't find her. She might be there."

"Hmm, perhaps," Kratos stated.

"Anyway," Ichigo tossed something at my feet. It was a sword with a black blade with green runes glowing around it. It had a platinum handle. "That's yours now."

I picked up the sword and swung it. "Wow, what's this called?"

"It's called the Demonic Torment, normally that costs a lot, but Dirk gave me a ninety percent friend discount and dropped the price to three hundred gald," Ichigo told me.

I gasped, "That's exactly…"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I earned from killing those monsters. I was wondering what I'd get with it, since I can't use it in the Soul Society or my hometown so I figured I'd get you a new weapon if you need one. I already got Sheena an apology present," he told me.

"Ichigo…thank you," I told him. I looked at the tree in front of me with a serious look. I charged straight at it. "Havoc Strike!" I said copying the move I had used when Ratatosk was in control. "Sword Rain Alpha!" After I saw the destruction I had done to the tree I realized that even though Ratatosk had been in control whenever I fought that I still retained all the muscle memory from when the techniques were used. I was worried about that when I made my decision, but it seems there was nothing for me to worry about.

"So you convinced Ratatosk to let you do some fighting, about time I guess," Ichigo smirked.

"Ah, yes," I nodded.

"Well all right then, anyway let's get going," he urged, "See you tomorrow for the final battle, Kratos."

"Take care," Kratos told us.

* * *

**Iselia**

We found Colette near the school. She was petting a dog.

"Is that your dog?" I asked Colette.

"Huh? Oh, no he belongs to one of the villagers. Grandma won't let me keep any pets," she said.

"Gee I wonder why," rolled his shoulders forward in a sigh.

"She said it's because I don't have enough responsibility to keep a pet," Colette answered.

Ichigo sighed, "Sarcasm is a foreign language to you isn't it?"

"Huh?" Colette was confused.

Ichigo facepalmed, "Never mind."

"Um…okay," Colette said with the usual cheerful smile she always had on. "So what brings you two to Iselia?"

"I'm just taking one last trip around the world," Emil said.

"I get it. Remembering all the beautiful places you visit will keep you inspired while you're protecting our world from Niflheim," Colette said cheerfully.

"Yup, exactly," I nodded.

"But once you regain your power as a summon spirit, does that mean we won't see each other again?" Colette asked, playing with her fingers.

"I'm not sure, but probably," I said.

"That's so sad. We just became friends and everything," Colette seemed down.

Somehow whenever her or Marta got depressed it just dragged me down to their level. "Yeah, but I have to accept my duty," I told Colette.

"I used to think like that, too," Colette spoke up. "I was told that I had to go on a journey to regenerate the world. If that was my duty, then I was ready to give up my life for it."

"That's right you're the chosen of regeneration," I remembered.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget what we went through to keep you here with us?" Ichigo smirked happily.

Colette giggled with her hands balled up by her chin. She returned to be serious and said, "But you know, that's not right. You have to survive, too, while also protecting the world. No matter how naive people may say you are, you can't just decide from the start that it's okay to die."

"Emil's not going anywhere," Ichigo pat me on the shoulder, "He's a summon spirit so he'll always be around. He…just won't have freedom of movement is all, but hey if possible we could always have Sheena form a pact with him."

"You're right that's a great idea," Colette beamed.

_A pact, hmm…I should've figured Ichigo might suggest that._

"Tomorrow, let's go out there and stop Richter and protect the world we love okay?" Colette asked. Ichigo and I nodded in agreement.

* * *

**Triet**

The sandy desert had returned to being just that. As Ichigo and I wandered through it we saw Rangiku by the oasis, but she…she wasn't dressed professionally. She was wearing sunglasses and lounging on a towel in a bikini, while reading a magazine. She was using her shinigami clothes as a head rest.

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked, almost sounding slightly annoyed.

"Oh, Ichigo, Emil hello," she said all bubbly. "What brings you to Triet?"

"We're taking a trip so Emil can see the world one last time before he accepts his role as a Summon Spirit. More importantly why are you dressed like that?" Ichigo snapped.

"What? You don't like it? I think it shows off my assets quite nicely," She pushed on the undersides of her breasts causing them to bounce. My face was so red. I thought I might be feeling a nosebleed coming on.

"I didn't say I didn't like it, but what the hell are you doing?" Ichigo roared.

"Well since my captain's busy doing work I figured I'd spend the day relaxing and enjoying the sunshine of the Triet oasis. I'd go to Altamira, but it's so noisy what with all the construction going on," she said looking up at the sky. "And besides the weather is a lot nicer here in Triet anyway," Rangiku stated. "Speaking of warm weather and such," she turned her back to us and picked up a bottle of sunscreen. "Emil could you be a dear and rub some suntan lotion on my back?"

_WHAT? _"Uhhhhh…ummmmm…"

"You are a cruel devious woman," Ichigo said to her.

"What's the problem?" Rangiku asked, putting her sunglasses flush over her eyes, "It's not like I'm asking him to rub it on my chest." After hearing that, I couldn't help but wind up staring at Rangiku's chest. My face and lower body grew to its optimum level of arousal. I felt blood start to drip from my nose and I fell backwards onto the sand and passed out.

When I woke up I was in the Triet inn. Ichigo was in the lounge chair in the room I was in. When I asked him what happened with Rangiku he said he wound up doing it. He seemed really flustered by it. I could understand. I mean he has a girlfriend and all and...Rangiku's really hot.

* * *

**Izoold**

We walked around Izoold for a bit until we got to the harbor. Regal was there talking to some sailors.

"Regal!" Ichigo called out. Regal waved and the sailors walked away. We jogged up to him.

"Emil, Ichigo, what brings you to these parts?" Regal asked.

"I wanted to go out and see the world so Ichigo's taking me on a tour," I said. "What are you up to? I thought for sure you'd be back to work in Altamira."

"I came to make certain the situation here was under control," Regal answered.

"Oh, you mean to see if the fires stopped after we hatched Lumen's core?" I asked.

Regal nodded, "Indeed. Thankfully it would appear conditions have returned to normal."

"That's good to hear. You really impress me, Regal. All I've been doing is thinking about myself. It didn't even cross my mind to check on things here in Izoold," I said.

"Not at all," Regal shook his head, "I think serious reflection is exactly what you should be doing right now. And of course, we can handle anything that comes our way in the meantime."

I smiled. "You've been kind and supportive from the very beginning. I appreciate that."

All of a sudden we heard screaming. Ichigo and I turned to see Zephyr chewing on a weather vane attached to the inn. Ichigo ran over his way. "Zephyr! No! Bad boy! Stop that!"

Regal and I both laughed. He then said to me, "You have treated me with courtesy from the first time we met. People mirror how you act towards them. One cannot hide an ugly heart no matter how hard one tries to conceal it. If I've treated you with kindness and respect, it's only due to your own kindness and virtue."

"But I'm…Ratatosk," I reminded him.

"Well then, perhaps virtue like yours exists within Ratatosk as well. We believe in your virtue that's why we're helping you," Regal stated. "Anyway I suppose we should go help Ichigo apologize to the villagers. I believe I'll have to pay for repairs. That poor weather vane."

"I'm more worried Zephyr might choke," I admitted.

* * *

**Hima**

This was the first time I had ever been to Hima so I was fascinated by the outlook of the mountain village. I really liked the breeze at the top of the mountain. It was so…liberating.

"Ichigo! Emil!" Both of us turned to see Renji.

"Oh, hey Renji, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

"Rukia said that when she first arrived here that there were monsters everywhere, but this place seems to have calmed down since," Renji stated.

"Maybe it's from hatching all the Centurions cores. Perhaps a combination of Solum and Ventus," I suggested.

"Perhaps," Renji said. He walked to the edge of the cliff. "I remember when we came here the last time," he said to Ichigo.

"Yeah that was back when we thought this world was still a game," Ichigo said.

"A game?" I questioned.

"It's a long story," Ichigo said sheepishly rubbing his hand thorough his hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said. Ichigo chuckled. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"It's just…we've been on this journey for so long and you've changed a lot since we first met, but I guess some things never change," He smiled.

"Oh, you mean how I still over apologize," I slumped forward.

"Hey," Ichigo put a hand on my shoulder, "That's just part of who you are. Sure it's a little annoying, but the fact that it's still a part of you means something. It means that the compassion you've always had is still there Emil."

I picked my head up, "Thanks Ichigo."

"So what are you guys doing here anyway?" Renji asked.

"I'm taking Emil on a journey around Aselia since he won't be able to get out much once he assumes the role of protecting the world," I said.

"That's not a bad idea," Renji agreed, "I think once I finish my report inside the inn I might take the Rheaird that Nel lent me and take a look around. This is such a wondrous world. It sure beats the hell out of your backwater town."

"Say that again, I dare you," Ichigo grumbled.

"You two have a really good friendship with each other," I smiled.

"Me be friends with a hot headed idiot like this guy?" the both said at the same time. "Who are you calling a hot head?" they pointed at each other. They then began wrestling with each other.

"My, my humans are such peculiar creatures," Tenebrae said. I laughed nervously.

* * *

**Ozette**

We dropped by Ozette and saw Presea hauling a large bundle of wood behind her as she brought it to some villagers. They then struggled to carry it themselves.

"Nice to see the villagers accepting you as one of their own again," Ichigo called out to her.

She turned towards us. "Oh, Ichigo, Emil."

"Hi Presea, what are you up to?" I asked.

"Well at first I was bringing back the Iron Maiden back to Altamira, but some of the villagers asked if I could cut some wood for the Ozette restoration project," she said.

"Oh yeah, Cruxis destroyed the village last time we were here didn't they?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, so much work is being done to restore Ozette to its former glory," she responded.

"Well, it's good to know the villagers are asking you to help out," Ichigo said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Presea is a lot older than she looks, she was affected by the paratism of the exsphere on her neck for a long time. If it wasn't for us her time may not be moving forward again," Ichigo answered.

"Yes, speaking of which, how is Orihime?" Presea asked.

"Inoue?" I scratched my head, "I haven't seen her in person since I started college, but last I spoke to her over the phone she seemed to be doing all right."

"That is good to hear," Presea said, smiling.

"Speaking of Orihime, what's she like?" I asked Ichigo. I remembered when he mentioned her back when we were trying to help Berg.

"She's really kind, kind of ditzy and really smart," Ichigo answered.

"She sounds a lot like Colette," I said, lauching a little.

Ichigo thought for a moment. "Yeah I could see that," he sighed.

"Yes, she's a very nice person," Presea said and looked at me. "You two would be instant friends."

"Really?"

"Yes, Orihime is very kind and gentle, much like you are. It's a shame she's not here for you to meet her," Presea said only to say to Ichigo, "Maybe the next time you come to Aselia you could take Orihime to visit Emil at the Ginnungagap."

"Hey that's not a bad idea, why didn't I think of that before?" Ichigo asked rhetorically. "If Emil can't come to us we'll go to Emil." I just smiled and didn't say anything.

* * *

**Flanoir**

The moment we reached the entrance to the snowy village, Ichigo let out a deep breath. "This place sure brings back a lot of memories."

"Why? What happened in Flanoir that's so memorable?" I asked Ichigo.

"Let's just say some of my fonder memories with Sheena reside here," he said.

"I don't really get it, but I guess this village means a lot to the two of you," I said.

"Yeah…kind of," Ichigo scratched his head.

We wandered around the village until we walked near the clock tower. "Oh hey it's Lloyd." Ichigo said and waved to the red clad swordsman. Lloyd didn't respond. We walked closer to him only to see he was deep in thought. "Paging Mr. Irving."

Lloyd snapped out of his thoughts and opened his eyes to see us. "Oh, Ichigo, Emil, good to see you. What brings you all the way out here?"

"Ichigo's taking me to see the world, sine this is my last chance," I said.

"Guess you won't be able to get out as much as the guardian of the Ginnungagap huh?" Lloyd stated.

"Okay your turn," Ichigo said, "Why are you here?"

"Yeah, Decus, disguised as you, did some terrible things to this city. Are you okay about being here?" I asked him.

"I didn't do anything wrong, so there's no need for me to feel ashamed, regardless of what anyone says," he said, folding his arms.

"Oh please, cut the crap Lloyd," Ichigo didn't seem to buy Lloyd's statement. I guess he would know better than me if Lloyd was lying or not.

Lloyd sighed and said, "To tell you the truth, it is kind of tough. People are always saying how strong I am. Some probably think I don't feel anything at all. But I'm still human. There are times I want to run away. Times I just want to cry. But this is how I've chosen to live my life. During the world regeneration, I made up my mind to never lose to the weakness in my heart."

"That's certainly adamant of you," Ichigo told him.

"Why do you always make yourself out to be so strong anyway?" I asked Lloyd.

"I can take a guess," Ichigo said, "Colette right?"

Lloyd blushed for a moment and said, "Y-yeah, she's well…she's very important to me. During the journey of regeneration she never let herself show any emotion. She didn't show fear, sadness, anger or worry and so…I want to be there to be a pillar of strength she can lean on when she feels down."

"Preferably one she can't knock over," Ichigo jostled.

"Hey I'm trying to be serious here," Lloyd bemoaned.

"Haha sorry," Ichigo laughed.

Lloyd then stuck his hand out, palm side down. "Tomorrow it'll be up to the three of us to set things right. Let the heroes of old, new and the outside band together to protect the world!"

"Yeah!" Ichigo agreed putting his hand on top of Lloyd.

"Yeah! Tomorrow we'll protect the world!" I declared and put my hand on top of Ichigo's.

* * *

**Mizuho**

The sun was starting to set by the time we reached the ninja village. Ichigo and I walked right over to Sheena. "Sorry I took so long to get here," Ichigo said to Sheena.

"Hey, at least you're here," she said to him.

"Hey, Sheena, is the village all right?" I asked. "I mean the Vanguard knows where it's located now so…"

Sheena chuckled, "No need to worry about us. We'd planned to move the village soon anyway."

Ichigo growled, "Gah! Again? I was just getting used to coming to this spot too!"

Sheena laughed, "Don't worry, I think you'll like where we plan on moving to next time."

"And just what pray tell is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a surprise," Sheena laughed.

"I hate surprises," Ichigo growled.

"Well you'll like this one," she laughed.

"Well if you say so," Ichigo said.

"By the way, Emil," Sheena called to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Once you regain your power as a summon spirit, can you make a pact with me?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, "but all the other summon spirits can make pacts, so I don't see why not."

"And even if you can't we'll still come and visit you," Ichigo told me. "Like I said when we were in Ozette, if you can't come to us, we'll come to you."

"Ichigo," I was happy he was so kind.

"Anyway," Ichigo said and whistled. Zephyr came by and grabbed me in his talon. I gasped as he threw me up in the air and had me land on his back. "Take him to Altamira," Ichigo instructed Zephyr.

"Huh? You're not coming with me?" I asked.

"Marta wants to see you remember? You two need some alone time," Ichigo told me.

"B-But…"

"No buts, get going, both of you," Ichigo said, indicating Zephyr. The large bird let out a cry and with me on board, flew away."

* * *

**Altamira**

It was night time by the time we made it to the city. Zephyr desummoned himself and I felt a twinge of Mana as his essence seemed to flow back into my body. _So this is what it's like…to be the other me._ I said to myself. I walked down the city streets and took the tramway to the theater area. I saw Marta standing on the bridge looking over the sea. "Sorry to keep you waiting," I said to Marta as I walked up to her.

"Don't worry about it," she said all bubbly, as she turned to face me. "Thanks for coming."

"So…how is your father doing?" I asked.

"Much better, thank you. He's stable now." She turned to face the water again. "They're going to transfer him to Meltokio's prison soon."

"Oh I see," I said and stood next to her.

"When this battle is all over I'll need to head over there and receive punishment as a member of the Vanguard as well," Marta told me.

"You too?" I questioned. Marta didn't have anything to do with the Vanguard's actions as of late, why should she be punished?

"Yes, of course! I guess first I'll need to dissolve the Vanguard in Daddy's place, and then I'll serve my sentence. And after that..." her voice trailed off.

She wasn't speaking up so I said, "After that?"

Marta breathed and then said, "After that I'll find a different way from the Vanguard to bring peace to Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." She turned towards me and smiled. "Colette and the others will help out, too."

"That's great. I'm sure you can do it Marta," I told her, "I just wish there was something that I could do…to help out too."

Marta turned back to face the ocean, "So I guess...since you're the guardian of the Ginnungagap you would need to stay there and protect the door."

"Yeah, probably," I said, nodding my head.

There was a semi-long silence before Marta said, "Then I guess we'll never see each other again after this is over."

"Yeah," I nodded depressingly.

"Tell me something," Marta turned towards me, distraught, "How can you just stand there and act so calm?" Her eyes started to tear up. "I guess I really don't mean anything to you. Even after all the time we've spent together."

"N-no, Marta," I reached out to her, "I-I didn't mean it like..."

She ran towards me and fell against me. Her hands gripped my shirt. Her head was buried into my chest. "Emil…I…I want to stay with you," she sobbed.

"Marta," I looked at her with solemn eyes.

"I don't care if you're a summon spirit. I know you who you really are. You've always tried your best and that's the Emil that I love," she told me, looking up at me.

I was almost at a loss for words. Key words being almost. "Oh Marta, I…I don't know what to say. Marta…you've always been there for me and…and…I…Marta I lo—"

I couldn't speak. Not because my voice left me, but because Marta stood on her tiptoes and locked her mouth against mine. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around her narrow body and kissed her back. We stood there for a really long time. After we broke away Marta stood there, beaming. "You don't have to say it," she said. "I know." She turned back to face the ocean. So did I. I placed my hand on top of hers. "Emil, I want you to make a pact with me after you've regained Ratatosk's power. That way I'll be able to see you whenever I want to." She paused and then said depressingly. "Of course…I don't have any summoning abilities."

"Marta," I said, "I don't know whether or not I'll be able to see you again, but I'm a summon spirit, and I'll always exist in this world. And as long as I exist, you'll always be in my heart no matter what. Always. Even if you grow up and find somebody else to love one day."

She leaned against me, "Emil, don't be stupid! There won't ever be anyone else for me."

We stood there looking at the ocean, listening to the crashing of the waves and smelling the sea air until a cold gust blew through us. "I-It's starting to get cold outside," I said. "We should probably head back to the hotel."

"You're right," Marta said.

* * *

**Altamira Hotel**

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Marta walked straight up to the receptionist. "One room plese."

The receptionist handed her a key. She then noticed Emil. "Oh is that your boyfriend?"

"Yes, yes he is," Marta said with gusto.

The receptionist took back the key and handed Marta a different one, "Here you go then. I think this room will better suit the two of you. Enjoy."

"Thank you," Marta said and turned towards Emil. "Come on, let's go."

They went up to the 5th floor of the hotel and Marta unlocked the door to the room. There was a single king sized bed inside with curtains around it for "privacy". "Ah! It's perfect," Marta squealed.

"Y-yeah," Emil blushing slightly.

"Emil," Marta said staring at the ground, flushing.

"What is it Marta?" Emil asked.

"Will you…sleep with me?" she asked.

Emil was confused, "there's only one bed so don't I…"

"That's not…" Marta realized her animosity and then cleared her throat, before saying much more maidenly, "That's not what I meant." Her face was completely flushed.

"What did you mean then?" Emil asked. Marta leaned over to Emil and began whispering things into his ear. The blonde's eyes widened. After a while longer his cheeks turned red and then his whole face turned bright red. Marta then looked at Emil, the same innocent, flushed, maidenly look on her face.

"So…will you?" she asked.

"I…I don't know I…"

"This might be our only chance," Marta pleaded, "So please…" she grabbed Emil's scarf, "I want you to be with me while we have this moment!"

"But…I've never done this," Emil told her.

"Neither have I but I…I just want you Emil," she told him.

"Marta," Emil pulled her towards him and kissed her tenderly. After the kiss clothes began being discarded and the two lay down in bed with Marta hovering over Emil. "Come closer, Emil," Marta urged. Emil leaned down and flicked his tongue across Marta's left nipple. "Hah…Emil," Marta moaned. Emil pulled up from Marta's chest. He looked at her maidenly face and the two kissed again. Emil then entered her and the two began to experience life's greatest joy together. Emil remained gentle all throughout the moment as Marta moaned his name and moaned it loudly. She gripped the bed sheets hard as she let the immense pleasure flow through her. "Oh Emil," she squealed in orgasmic glee.

Emil could hardly believe this was happening. He thought it all had to be a dream. He never thought that he'd ever experience anything like this with Marta. But the intense pleasure flowing through him told him otherwise.

Marta began to feel the pleasure surge through her body at an intense rate. Her heart began to beat rapidly. She could feel the need to cum quickly approaching. "E-Emil…I…I'm going to…"

"Marta…I don't think…I can…do this…much longer," Emil told her.

"I…I know…" Marta gasped in orgasm. She began to gasp and moan and then bucked her hips forward and came in an intense orgasm. Emil also climaxed and ejaculated inside of Marta. He pulled out and then woozily collapsed next to Marta. "That was amazing Emil," Marta smiled at him, stroking the side of his face. "I love you."

"I know," Emil smiled back at her. Marta reached over behind her and pulled the curtain to cover her and her lover. She and Emil cuddled up and they fell asleep.

_**Emil…I'll always love you**_

* * *

**(A/N: Wow this was a LONG chapter. I mean there are…OVER 9000 words. I really liked doing the Marta/Emil lemon although now that I think about it Marta should've been on top. She "wears the pants" in the relationship as Tenebrae once noted in the game. Anyway I really hoped you guys enjoyed this fluffy, friendly and **_**extremely**_** romantic chapter. There's not much more to go. We just have the battles to come at the Ginnungagap and that's it! But that means 5 back to back fight scenes. That's going to be SO IRRITATING! [I like dialogue much more than I like fight scenes so doing back to back ones will be a pain]. Anyway I hoped you guys liked this and I want to see reviews. See you all later!)**


	29. Dead End Duel

**(A/N: We're on the home stretch. I think if I work diligently enough that I'll be able to finish RotS by the end of the weekend. ToB RotS chapter 29 starts now!)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

**The Otherworldly Gate**

The group formed up ready to go at the Otherworldly Gate. Everyone was present and accounted for.

"Okay," Urahara said, "I've got some good news and I've got some bad news. The good news I managed to find a way to force open the Ginnungagap. The bad news is it requires the spiritual pressures of four captain class Soul Reapers."

"Couldn't we just use Emil's power to get in?" Lloyd asked.

"It's not possible since Ratatosk is short one Centurion," Urahara responded, "My guess is Richter forced open the gate with the power of the demonic realm."

"Wait, but that would mean…" Rukia realized.

"Yeah, it means Richter has the power of at least four soul reaper captains. Be careful you guys," Urahara warned.

"Not just Richter. Grimmjow and those two humans are with him as well," Nel stated.

"Yes we should be careful. Ratatosk's realm is where utilization of mana and demonic energy is at its highest," Kratos explained.

"It doesn't matter. We have to wake up Ratatosk and save the world," Ichigo said and looked at Urahara with a firm gaze. "Open the gate for us."

He nodded. Byakuya, Yoruichi and Hitsugaya joined him atop each of the Otherworldly Gate's four pillars. They channeled their spiritual pressure and each fired form a beam of pure spirit energy towards the center of the gate. A wide portal began to open. "We have to stay here and keep the gate open. You guys have about five hours. After that the gate will close and you'll be trapped in Ratatosk's home. You'll have to use his power to get out if you exceed the time limit."

"We'll do it in less than three," Ichigo declared hotheadedly.

Urahara laughed, "Well do your best everyone."

"Right!" Ichigo declared. "Come on! Let's go!"

The group entered the gate and emerged in Ratatosk's world. There were boundaries of freeflowing turquoise and black mana. Stalactites hung from the gray cavern outcroppings and a long twisted pathway led down to the lower levels of Ratatosk's world.

Zelos whistled. "So this is Ratatosk's homeland. Kind of a dreary spot."

"Kratos you've been here before right?" Lloyd asked him.

"Yes," Kratos stated.

"Please lead us to the Ginnungagap then," Emil requested, "You know the way right?"

"Of course, follow me." With the auburn haired crusader leading the pack the group walked down the long and winding pathway to a platform etched with the symbols of the Centurions. "Hmm, this wasn't here the last time. It seems Ratatosk put up some extra defense."

"What do you mean?" Rangiku asked Kratos.

"When the worlds were split, no perhaps when the tree was destroyed and Martel was killed, Ratatosk felt we had betrayed him and set up traps for the next time we would violate his hollow ground. He probably didn't want anyone coming this way," Kratos stated.

"But then how did Richter get by?" Emil asked.

"Maybe he solved whatever puzzle is laid out here for us," Genis said.

"Tenebrae, your Ratatosk's servant. Any ideas?" Raine asked.

"As you can easily tell each of the edges of the platform is etched with a Centurions emblem. To activate the lift to go down a monster of each element must stand on top of the platform," Tenebrae answered.

"But then how did Richter get by?" Presea inquired.

"I believe that would be most in part to that sadist girl," Tenebrae stated.

"Alice does control a lot of monsters," Marta acknowledged.

"But we only have the elements of lightning, fire, ice, earth and wind with the monsters we have," Emil stated.

"Don't tell me we gotta go out and recruit monsters just to be able to stop Richter," Zelos sighed.

"You forget, we have the power of Lord Ratatosk himself. The Centurions themselves should be sufficient to unlock seven of the eight locks," Tenebrae stated.

"Ok, but then what about the water seal?" Marta put a hand on her hip.

"Maybe we could force open the lift like Urahara did with the entrance to the world," Lloyd suggested.

Genis swiped at the air. "Hmmm, the mana is twice as thick down here than it was on the surface. That being the case if there were four seals up top and eight down here that means to force open the whole gate would take sixteen captain class soul reapers, but since we're opening seven-eighths of the lock automatically we would only need one-eighth that many. Which means we only need two captain class soul reapers, or the equivalent of such."

"That's our genius magician," Lloyd complimented.

"Still even with that being the case we only have Rukia, Rangiku, Renji, Nel and Ichigo. Nel's an arrancar. Rangiku and Renji are vice captains and Rukia's only a squad member. And we'll need Ichigo's strength against Richter," Regal rationalized.

"No sweat," Renji said. "I may not be a captain per-se, but my reiatsu is captain class. Rukia may only be a member, but her reiatsu is Vice Captain material."

"So then its decided the three of you will stay behind and the rest of us will forge on ahead," Kratos stated.

"Given the difficulty it may take to open the lock it looks like your less than three hour boast will have to become fact," Rukia said to Ichigo.

"No problem," Ichigo stated.

"All right," Renji said, "Good luck you guys."

Emil used the power of the centurions to open 7 of the 8 locks. Rangiku, Renji and Rukia then focused their energies to remove the final lock and the elevator began to descend towards the ground. Emil, Marta, Kratos and Nel stepped off the platform no problem, but when Ichigo and the others took steps off it their bodies began to fade and they were unable to move. "Ichigo!"

"What's going on?" Raine worried.

"I was afraid of this," Kratos said calmly.

"Da—Kratos what's going on?" Lloyd shouted. Kratos didn't have time to respond as there was a bright flash of light and the fading group vanished.

Kratos sighed. "I was afraid of this."

"Kratos, what happened?" Nel asked.

"The Derris Emblem," Kratos stated.

"Derris Emblem?" Emil cocked his head.

"Ah yes, you came here last time with those trinkets didn't you?" Tenebrae stated. "But why were the others affected and not you?"

"I didn't go with the group when they were hit by Cruxis' trap caused by the Derris Emblem," Nel answered.

"Since we were dealing with Ratatosk I thought that the Derris Emblem, which is something Martel originally created as a symbol of Cruxis, might work against us in proceeding forward so I discarded mine as it was no longer needed," Kratos stated.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Emil shouted, "If you knew something might happen…"

"When Captain Kuchiki and Captain Hitsugaya were able to help Urahara force open the gate, despite being a carrier of such an emblem I thought perhaps I was being a bit paranoid since we were able to enter, but it seems I was mistaken," Kratos stated.

"What's going to happen to the others?" Marta asked.

"I don't know, but let us proceed with caution, we don't know where they may be, but I have a guess," Kratos stated.

"Please take us there," Emil requested.

"You don't have to ask. I was planning to anyway," Kratos said and let the group around a bend and through a tunnel only to wind up in a spiritual graveyard atmosphere-like open area and run into the last few people they needed to see at the moment.

"Welcome everyone to the Monster Graveyard," Alice giggled.

"Where's the rest of your crew?" Grimmjow asked.

"Why yes I do believe Berry Onii-chan is missing from your company," Alice stated.

"That is not your business," Kratos stepped forward. "Please step aside and let us pass. We have no business with you in particular. We are here to stop Richter."

"Kratos is right Alice," Marta said, "There's no reason to do this. You were all pulled in by the Centurion's Core can't you see that?"

"Who said anything about me being controlled? The Commander and Dumbo-Decus perhaps, but I always knew exactly what I was doing," Alice said.

"Grimmjow, surely you can see how wrong this is," Nel stated.

"Sorry Nel, but if I'm going to get the power to assume command over Hueco Mundo I need the power of Nifilheim," Grimmjow told her.

"So you still aim to become king? You must end your foolish ambition. You shall not succeed," Nel told him.

"Says you," Grimmjow shot back.

"Alice were you really doing everything up until now of your own free will?" Marta asked her.

"Of course Martmart," Alice said. "After all," she frowned, "I totally despise you. You're just so annoying. You're powerless, and yet you always have to interfere." Alice began to prance around and mock being Marta. "'Stop it, daddy!' 'Please help me, Ratatosk!'" Alice stamped her foot. "Phooey! You can't solve anything by yourself. You're so pathetic it makes me sick." Her voice turned icy, "I hate hypocrites like you. I couldn't wait to rub your cute little nose in the sad truth of what you really are. I knew if I stayed close to Richter, you'd come to me eventually."

"Decus why did you agree to all this?" Emil asked him, "The Vanguard stands for the liberation of Sylvarant. So why would you agree to help in all this?"

"The only one I fight for is Alice," he said, "All she'd have to do is say the word and I'd sell my soul to the devil and never look back."

Alice smiled satanically, "I'm going to gain unyielding power! That's what's needed to survive this world. If Richter calls upon demons, I'll use them as well. The world will answer to me and only to me. So to complete my deal with Richter, I need you to die." She tapped the ground and a magic circle appeared.

"She's summoning a monster," Kratos deducted.

"Monsters," Alice corrected, holding out the 's' as the circle widened and several creatures appeared. There was a large creature made out of wood with a face that looked like it was the cross between a jack-o-lantern and Pinocchio, a giant plant creature with a similar looking face (minus the Pinocchio nose) and a body shaped like a turnip, with four cactuses for arms and a large red flower for a head top, a green bear with a yellow Mohawk and yellow fur on its belly, a beige worm creature, with a giant fanged mouth with green spines and two stubby little arms, a creature that was a cross between a mermaid and a harpy (it had no legs, but had a feathery clump in place of a tail and had wings for arms and red hair), a lamia in a maid's outfit holding a deck brush, a red wyvern-like creature, and a giant, bodyless samurai warrior armor with four arms and swords.

"That's…a Mandocille, a Diaonea, a Galf Beast, a Mia Culpa, a Fenia, a Ruby Dear, a Bakunawa and a Sword Dancer!" Tenebrae gasped, "They're amongst the most powerful monsters in all of monster lore."

"Yeah…well…we have monsters too," Emil said and focused his energy to summon Zephyr, Gerios, Raziel, Athenos and Terremotto.

"Oooh, scary," Alice pretended to be intimidated.

"Each of you take our opponents, leave the monsters to our monsters and me," Kratos requested.

"Are you sure?" Emil asked.

"They may have strength in numbers," Kratos said and unleashed his wings, surprising Alice and Decus, "but I am an angel of Cruxis. I am more than a match for them."

"Well then," Alice said. "Whenever you're ready Martmart."

Dust went blowing through the air around the group and then a bone cracked off a nearby skeleton and the fight began. Emil charged straight at Decus and the two clashed swords.

"How can you hurt others so easily? How can you hurt Marta?" Emil asked angrily, gaining an edge on the weapon lock.

"You think you're some kind of knight in shining armor, kid? I won't let you hurt Alice!" Decus told Emil and took the advantage momentarily before the two broke away.

Marta attacked Alice with Swallow Waltz as Alice dodged out of the way. "I don't care if you hate me, Alice! Why can't you realize it's wrong to turn the world into a demonic realm just so you can gain power?"

"Why is it wrong if the world is turned into the demonic realm? No matter what the world turns into, I will survive and persevere with my own powers," Alice responded, "Icicle Rain!" Marta dodged the falling spears.

Emil and Decus clashed swords again. "Quake Assault!" Emil flipped forward and blasted Decus into the air with a created Stalagmite.

"It does not matter to me the consistency of this world," Decus declared, "I will stand right by Alice!" He charged forward towards Emil.

"Heavenly Tempest!" Emil spun rapidly forward and nicked Decus along the shoulder before dropping down on one knee.

"If that's the way it must be then I will stop you," Marta told Alice as she and Alice bounced energy blasts off each other. "Those who rely on power will be doomed _because_ of power! Photon!"

"Hah!" Alice scoffed as she fired off Air Thrust to counter Marta's photon, "As if you would know what having power entails! You're nothing but a powerless spoiled brat!"

Emil and Decus clashed swords for a few scant moments. "Swallow Fury!" Emil shouted and slashed Decus a few times up into the air before spinning about counterclockwise in midair. "Raining Fangs!" He blasted Decus with several shockwaves and landed near Marta. "The only reason you desire power Alice is because you're powerless yourself!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Alice shouted, "I'm not gonna lose to anyone! Not to you, OR to demons! I will best anyone that mistreats us with my _own_ powers!"

"The time for chit-chat is over," Decus said getting up and started breathing deep, "Taste the combined forces of our power!" He unleashed a huge surge of energy. He ran towards Emil with battle mad energy and knocked him away.

"Emil!" Marta shouted in concern.

"Where are you looking Martmart?" Alice said and attacked her, only for Marta to dodge.

"Remnant Strike!" Marta slid between Alice's legs turned and fired an energy blast.

"Barrier!" Alice blocked the strike.

Meanwhile, above ground, Nel and Grimmjow were clashing with one another. "So what happened to Kurosaki?"

"What's the matter? Am I not strong enough to hold your attention?" Nel asked before punching Grimmjow in the chest.

"Course your strong enough. Am I not allowed to know why he didn't come here to face me?" Grimmjow asked.

"He came here, but the remainder of our group got caught in a trap of which your group did not have to deal with," Nel answered.

"Puh," Grimmjow spat, "That's a poor excuse." He flared his reiatsu, "No matter! It doesn't matter who I fight! I'll take down anyone who gets in my way!" Grimmjow drew out his sword, "Grind, Pantera!"

Back on the ground Emil and Decus continued to cross swords. "Havoc Strike!" Emil jump kicked Decus in the stomach, but the flamboyant swordsman didn't even flinch and attacked Emil, cutting him in the shoulder before kicking him in the chest and knocking him away. Emil bent over backwards, tapped the ground with his palm and landed on his feet. He bent over, holding his shoulder and wincing from the pain.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me that finished you," Decus mocked, "Whatever happened to your Ratatosk mode kid? Aintcha gonna bring that out?"

"I don't…I don't need Ratatosk's help to beat you!" Emil shouted. He drew in Earth based mana around. "Fiend Fusion Adamantium!" Emil's body radiated with a thick battle aura. Small rocks and dirt floated around him. "I will win. This is my resolve," Emil said as the wound on his shoulder closed up.

"Acting brave doesn't suit you kid. Leave that to your other…" In an instant Emil was on the other side of Decus and a wide cut was cut across Decus' chest. Emil shook the blood off his blade. "…self."

"I decided that when I sealed Ratatosk's personality away that I would have to be brave. I knew it would be no easy task. I've always let him handle the fighting, but," Emil turned around, his eyes hardened with courage, "I'm not going to run away and let my friends handle the fighting. I decided that I would take up our blade and fight. For Ichigo, for Marta, and for the world." Emil rushed forward, "And I won't let you stop me!" He spun and fired off an arrow of light, "Savage Photon!" The blast struck Decus straight in the stomach. A small photograph went flying out of Decus' shirt pocket and flapped away and fell off the battlefield and into the abyss.

"Ah no!" Decus chased after it, but it was too late. The photo was gone. Decus stood up, suppressing deep anger.

"Decus?" Emil questioned.

"That was…my favorite photo of Alice…" Decus turned around his eyes burned with hatred. A thick, sky blue aura radiated around him. "BASTARD!" He ran at Emil and began swinging his sword wildly. Waves of pink energy flew out towards Emil. Emil was too wide eyed and frozen with fear to move. "STRUM. AND. DRANG!" Decus shouted at the top of his lungs as a wave of energy flowed out and knocked Emil to the ground. Emil went flying and fell along the ground.

At the same time Marta and Alice were clashing and Alice had the upper hand, even though Marta was already using Steel to enhance her skills. "Prism Sword!" Marta cast on the blonde half-elf.

Alice smirked and shouted. "Field Barrier!" she blocked the entire attack.

"No way," Marta gasped.

"I'm tired Martmart," Alice said semi-yawning. "I think I'll end this," she drew in mana into her body as Marta could feel a chill wafting around everywhere.

Alice danced in place, "Obey the ancient pact of the ages," she tapped her weapon to the ground, "And fulfill your destiny." A bunch of ice formed around Alice and Marta. Marta could see Alice's image reflected in the ice. "Fimbulvetr!" The ice exploded into billions of pieces and a chilling wind blew Marta all around. The ice shards pierced her skin and a large chunk of ice smashed into Marta and she landed near Emil. Both heroes were in pain.

"You're good, but you're no match for Alice and me when we work together," Decus smirked at Emil and Marta's fallen forms.

"Who's working together?" Alice chastised, "I don't remember you helping me do anything against Martmart. Besides I'd never ask for your help."

"Ah yes, of course my dear Alice," Decus corrected himself. "You're oh so very strong that I cannot do anything except get in the way when you battle."

"That's right," Alice folded her arms and nodded. She then smiled and daintily walked over to Marta and held her up by her hair. She pointed her weapon at the core embedded in Marta's forehead. "I'll make the cutest little incision right here and then we'll win." Alice drove her weapon towards Marta's skull.

"NO!" In an instant Emil got in between Alice and Marta and pushed Alice off the brunette. He stood there, panting, clutching his chest.

"Oh you can still move," Alice pretended to be surprised before saying deviously, "but it's just a front. You can't have much strength left," she sighed, "Your power is all but gone."

"No," Emil said with a hardened tone. "You can smash up my body as much as you want, but I won't ever let you hurt Marta!" Emil reactivated Fiend Fusion Adamantium. "I…" he drew in energy. "I am not going to end here!" He gathered energy within his blade and charged forward towards Alice creating dozens of slashes in the blink of an eye before rushing past her, "I'm not going to lose!" He turned and rushing past both Alice and Decus, slashing them both pretty well. "Devil's Hellfire!" Emil said and front flipped exploding both Alice and Decus within a show of force. Decus however, scooped Alice underneath his arm and set her down at her side and took more of the damage than she did. Both were still standing, but they had taken rather serious damage. Emil let go of his rage and reduced it to anger, but smiled at Marta calmly and gave her his hand. "Stand up Marta," he told her.

"Emil," she looked at him before steeling her resolve and nodding. "Yeah." She stood up and their hands met. Marta and Emil's battle aura surged. Marta reactivated Steel.

"Before when we defeated us, we stood apart," Emil said.

"But when we work together," Marta stated. "There's nothing we can't do."

"Ready Marta?" Emil asked her.

"Only if you are," Marta told him.

"Let's do this!" Emil ran forward with his sword ready.

"Sharpness! Accelerate!" Marta cast enhancement magic on Emil. The blonde ran forward and delivered several, successive strikes to Alice and Decus before they could blink. He returned to Marta's side and tagged her hand as she rushed in and began to attack. "Leave it to me!" she declared.

"Ventus! Enhance! Lumen! Support! Ignis! Strike!" Emil empowered Marta with the three Centurions he called upon as her speed, strength and magical ability grew exponentially. Marta struck Alice and Decus with a flurry of spinner strikes and kicks before ending with a magic blast and pushed herself back. "Tonitrus! Channel!" A magical link was formed between Emil and Marta as the two fed off each other's energy.

"This is it!" Marta shouted and unleashed a bright blue beam of energy that accelerated forward and engulfed Alice and Decus.

Emil ran forward and Marta bent down to give him a boost with her hand. He went flipping through the air and spun in midair as he remained suspended momentarily. He channeled Ignis' power into his body. "This is the end!" He created a tornado of fire with a swing of his sword and condensed it into a beam, using the four centurions he had called upon for assistance he blasted the beam straight Alice and Decus before dropping to the ground. Marta ran in front of him and Emil placed a hand on her shoulder to conjure his energy into her body.

"By the power of Ratatosk! Take this! Ars Nova!" Marta unleashed a furious show of force and a destructive chaotic explosion of fire, light, wind and energy erupted around Decus and Alice. Emil and Marta stood with hardened resolve and waited to see if Alice and Decus were still standing, which they were. Kratos then appeared at Marta and Emil's side and Emil felt his monster companions shoot into his body.

"Martmart…I…" Alice wheezed, barely able to stand.

"Alice," Marta ran towards her. She and Emil had meant to end the fight, but they hadn't meant to kill Alice or Decus.

Alice slapped Marta, "I hate your guts!" She furiously attacked Marta with her weapons.

"Marta!" Emil ran forward and made to deliver an ending blow to Alice, but Decus shielded the blonde.

"Gah," Decus covered his mouth with his hand as he hacked up blood. He dropped to his knees in front of Alice.

"Today is," Decus gasped, "the seven hundred and sixty fifth day." He gasped again, "I guess that…this one was just a scam too." He gasped and clutched his wound as he lay on his back, staring up at Alice. "Alice," he gasped again, "you always said that I disgust you, but I…" he smiled and said, "I love you, Alice." His head turned the side and the color faded from his skin. The tension in his muscles went slack.

Alice dropped to her knees. Her mind had halfway shut down. "Decus!" Marta looked on and saw something she never thought she'd see. Real, genuine tears were falling from Alice's face. "Oh Decus," Alice sobbed, "I…I love you too," she sniffed, "I really…do love you." Her face turned into a mask of uncontrollable rage as she attacked Emil with her swatter over and over again. "How could you? You did this to him. Murderer!" Alice shouted. Tenebrae appeared and swatted Alice away with his tail. Alice got up and, despite Decus' sword being twice his size began swinging it furiously at Emil. Emil, in his weakened state, could barely block. Alice raised the sword over her head with both hands. "Die!" she swung down, but suddenly blood poured from her own chest and Marta appeared behind her, crouched down and her millstone spinning with Alice's blood on it. Alice dropped Decus sword as she staggered about her vision starting to wane extremely, clutching the sudden wound with her hand. After a bit she turned to look in Marta's direction. "Mart…mart?"

Marta stood up and looked at Alice with a scowl. "Go ahead. You can hate me all you want, but I won't ever let you hurt Emil."

Alice dropped onto her knees. She turned her hand over and looked at the blood on it. "I never thought you would actually do it," Alice said as more tears dropped from her face and blood dribbled out from her mouth. "Who would've thought you'd be the one to kill me…Mart…mart?" Alice fell forward onto her stomach and crawled over to Decus. She put her hand on his. "Don't worry. We'll be together…soon…we were promised…a place together…in…death…" Alice gasped and the last of her strength left her.

Marta let out a deep breath. "If only I'd stopped Daddy, the Vanguard never would've been created and Alice and Decus wouldn't have resorted to this."

"I see, so they gave it all they had," Marta turned to see Grimmjow standing behind her. She got defensive, but the Blue haired arrancar walked past her and scooped up Alice and Decus under each of his arms. He stomped his foot on the ground and a garganta opened.

Nel appeared at the scene moments later. "So, you're taking them with you. You're not going to help Richter?"

"You said it yourself," Grimmjow said, "This isn't the way. And while there are many things I enjoy destroying there's one thing I never would want to scratch, crack, damage or destroy."

"What's that?" Emil asked Grimmjow.

Grimmjow looked straight at Nel, "The hopes and dreams...of a lifelong friend." He then walked into the Garganta and it shut behind him.

"Alice," Marta still seemed melancholy about the whole thing.

"It's not your fault Marta," Nel said to her. "I don't claim to understand how Alice chose to live her life, but I know one thing the Vanguard was responsible for it, not you. Besides," the benevolent arrancar turned towards the tunnel that was not the way the group entered the area, "they will be together in death. Grimmjow promised him that they would exist if they should die."

"That Grimmjow may be a wild one, but he seems like a good person," Emil stated.

"He is…somewhere…deep down," Nel said looking off into the distance.

Kratos approached the entrance to the tunnel, "Come, we need to find the others." Nel, Marta and Emil agreed and proceeded onward.

* * *

**(A/N: Man, dark chapter. Well, that's one battle down, four more to go. First though, the group needs to get back together. I'll see you guys later, I got to get to class) **


	30. Advent of the Aquatic Centurion

**(A/N: Here we go. Prepare for epicness)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Emil, Marta and Nel continued forward, following Kratos, when Lloyd and Ichigo came running up to them.

"Guys!" Ichigo called out.

"Boy, are we glad to see you," Lloyd said as he and Ichigo took a moment to catch their breath.

"I'm so glad you guys are unhurt," Emil said

"Unfortunately we're the only ones who are and it was hell getting here. Man Emil you put up some tight security," Ichigo joked. Rather than apologizing Emil looked down at the ground in shame. "What, what's with the long face?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, you see…"

* * *

**One Explanation Later**

Ichigo was slightly irritable to hear about what happened to Alice. He had wanted to save the blonde. She respected him…hell she probably loved him. And he hadn't been there to help her.

"Ichigo…are you mad?" Marta asked him.

Ichigo turned around and said. "You did what you had to do," he looked up at the ceiling. _I guess…she's your responsibility now, Grimmjow._

"At any rate we should hurry, the others have been turned to stone have they not?" Tenebrae asked.

"How did you know that?" Lloyd asked.

"Ratatosk set a trap for the holders of the Derris Emblem. I suspected something might happen to prevent us getting into the Ginnungagap, but it seems he set such a trap further in," Kratos answered.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Lloyd asked, getting snappy.

"As I said, I didn't think Ratatosk had set a trap when we gained entry so I thought I was being paranoid. I shall…learn from this miscalculation," Kratos responded. Lloyd just let out a frustrated sigh, but acknowledged his father's words.

"But wait why were you and Ichigo spared?" Emil asked Lloyd.

"Well I have Martel's protection and I guess the reason Ichigo is okay must have something to do with the fact that he's a Soul Reaper," Lloyd theorized.

"Whatever the case is it doesn't matter. Let's go," Ichigo said swinging Zangetsu at his side, "Lloyd and I took out all the 'house pets' Emil set up, so it shouldn't be trouble getting to the others." He, Kratos, and Nel took off with their supernatural speed, leaving Marta, Emil and Lloyd in the dust. Marta ran ahead, but before Emil could take a few steps Lloyd said to him, "Emil, a moment."

"What is it?" Emil asked him.

"You've accepted the fact that you're Ratatosk, and made up your mind to do your duty and protect the door. Correct?" Lloyd asked. Emil nodded. "You're not thinking of letting Richter defeat you and turn yourself into a core so you can become a lock on the door are you?" Lloyd asked. Emil was silent. "Emil if you feel guilty about Aster…"

Emil cut Lloyd off and shouted, "No! I'm not going to let Richter kill me!"

"Ok then, I trust you," Lloyd said.

Marta came running back, "Hey you two what's the hold up? Kratos, Ichigo and Nel are gonna get way ahead of us" she called.

"S-sorry, coming!" Emil called. He and Lloyd caught up to where Kratos, Nel and Ichigo were. The area they were in had changed. The pathways were red and black and made of condensed mana. The walls were orange and the tunnels were hollow, but solid. In front of them they found Genis, Zelos, Colette, Regal, Sheena, Raine and Presea all to be stone statues.

"This is terrible!" Marta shouted, "Emil! Do something!"

"I…um…Tenebrae?" Emil had no idea what to do.

"The curse should dissolve as soon as you touch them," Tenebrae said.

"Ah okay," Emil acknowledged and tapped each person on the shoulder.

"Man! I can finally move!" Zelos stretched.

Lloyd and Ichigo were shocked. "You were conscious?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Presea responded, "It was if I was in a straightjacket and couldn't move at all."

"I could see everyone around me was petrified, so I just assumed I was, too," Colette stated.

"That was horrible. My whole body was tingling. It felt like I was frozen in place," Genis lamented.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault," Emil apologized.

"You could not have foreseen these circumstances. Don't worry about it," Regal told him.

"Well, it looks like everyone's more or less back to normal," Raine commented folding her arms.

"All right, now let's make up for lost time and go kick some serious butt!" Sheena declared. Everyone agreed and proceeded up the slanted pathway towards the Ginnungagap, but before they could Aqua descended down it.

"Master Richter is establishing a pact with the demons right now. I won't let you disturb him!" Aqua declared defiantly.

"Centurion Aqua! Are you aware of what you're doing?" Tenebrae scolded.

"Yes, of course. Right now I'm doing everything I can to make sure Lord Ratatosk never comes back again," Aqua answered with conviction.

"Why did you decide to side with Richter and betray us?" Tenebrae asked her.

"Because I want to help Master Richter avenge his friend. Master Richter and Aster first learned about Lord Ratatosk through their research of Summon Spirits. They found me and told me that they wanted to advise Lord Ratatosk about the Centurions losing control. I brought them to the Ginnungagap, to the door to the demonic realm, just beyond here. But Lord Ratatosk simply refused to listen to what Master Richter and Aster had to say. I couldn't believe it. Instead he lashed out at them because of his hatred of mankind! He killed Aster and Master Richter was gravely wounded. After surviving the ordeal, Master Richter searched for the power to bring Aster back to life," Aqua explained.

"That's it! So that's why he's forming a pact with demons," Tenebrae realized.

"Yes. In return for resurrecting his friend, Master Richter will open the door leading to Niflheim," Aqua declared. She became angry. "Can't you see? You are the ones who are wrong! Lord Ratatosk ordered us to annihilate mankind. How can you possibly help him? He even took the form of Aster when appearing before Master Richter. He, the one responsible for his death! No one is going to make Master Richter suffer any more. If I can help Master Richter avenge his friend, if I can help him grant his wish...then one thing's certain," she drew in all the water based mana around her that she could and shouted. "I won't hesitate to kill Lord Ratatosk himself!" She summoned the most ferocious monster any of the party had ever seen. It was big, navy blue, had nine heads, four legs, would have towered over Zephyr in height comparison, approximately twice the Izimbra's size and each of the heads had piercing red eyes. The creature also had five tails. Aqua then fused herself with the creature.

"Wh-what is that thing?" Genis asked.

"It's a Ladon!" Tenebrae declared alarmingly, "The most powerful water type monster ever belonging to the dragon class, but I thought it was just a legend. I had no idea Aqua had recruited it into her army."

"You know what they say," Ichigo unsheathed his sword, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Uh, no," Sheena said, "Presea hold him down."

"Say what?" Ichigo said indignantly only for the pint sized pig tailed axe wielder to force Ichigo down.

"Hey! What gives!" Ichigo shouted.

"You need to conserve and regain your energy for the big battle with Richter," Sheena told him. "We can't have you wasting your energy now."

"Let us handle this creature," Regal stated. "You, Lloyd, and the others who fought earlier, should rest and recuperate."

Ichigo growled, but submitted. It was not like he had a choice in the matter what with Presea holding him down and all.

Sheena, Colette, Zelos, and Regal all charged headlong into battle against Aqua. Genis and Raine stayed on the back lines for magical support.

"Super Lightning Blade!" Zelos attacked Aqua in the chest with his blade, but Aqua didn't seem even the least bit phased by the attack and brought one of her heads down to chomp at Zelos. The chosen dodged. "Whoa!"

"White Wolf!" Regal stomped the ground and a White wolf head shaped manifestation of energy charged at the head that was lowered. The head picked itself up and Aqua turned her body, whapping Regal, Colette, Zelos and Sheena with her tails. Each recovered momentarily.

"I need to get in there," Ichigo growled.

"You're staying right here like you were asked," Presea stated.

"But…" Ichigo protested.

"Have faith in them Ichigo," Lloyd stated. "I know I do."

Ichigo just let out a frustrated growl and watched.

"Photon!" Raine cast the blast of light at one of Aqua's heads, causing it to real back. Two of the remaining eight charged at her.

"I don't think so!" Sheena stated, "Rain of blades!" she threw a barrage of kunais at the necks of the two heads, lodging them in the scales of the creature. The heads reared up and roared in pain. Sheena then began creating strange patterns with her hands. "By the power of Volt," She stood up and threw a seal at the creature. "I smite thee!" The card slapped itself against the Ladon and radiated with electrifying energy. The creature howled. Two of the heads opened their mouths and poured boiling hot water at the group. Sheena and Colette dodged out of the way.

"Wanna charge? Spark Wave!" Genis unleashed a large ball of lightning on the giant dragon, causing it to reel in pain again.

"Triple Ray Thrust!" Colette created star shaped chakrams using magic and then sent them flying at the Ladon, but they didn't do much except bounce off the creature's tough scales.

Aqua brought up her foot and made to stomp on Colette. She flew out of the way. Zelos came charging towards the leg and slashed down upon it. "Fierce Demon Fang!" Again, Aqua's tough scales blocked most of the damage.

"Acuteness!" Raine supercharged each person's weapons and attack power.

Regal leapt high into the air. "Eagle Dive!" he slammed his feet into Aqua's central neck, leaving quite a nasty bruise.

"Aw yeah now we're talking!" Zelos said and quickly conjured a spell, "Burn, Baby! Eruption!" A lava geyser erupted beneath one of Aqua's feet and she was forced to back off before dousing it with her water.

"Para ball!" Colette threw and electric, spiky object that she seemed to conjure from out of nowhere and through it into Aqua's jet stream. The electric object travelled up the water way and shocked Aqua's whole system.

_Now's my chance, _Sheena declared to herself. She created a ring of spell cards around her that then began rotating around her erratically. She created another ring that began doing the same. She repeated the process once more and then fired one of the rings at Aqua as she was recovering. "By the power of Sylph! Succumb to the gale force!" Deep wind, empowered lacerations cut Aqua up and the cards embedded themselves onto Aqua's skin. Sheena moved her hands in an erratic pattern and then caused the cards in the second ring to float around her in a wide circle as she levitated off the ground a few inches. "By the power of Luna! Receive your judgment!" The cards launched forward and smashed against Aqua in bursts of light. The cards themselves bound themselves to Aqua's skin. With the last ring Sheena created another, more tighter circle around her body and levitated higher into the air so that she was level with Aqua's heads. She held her hand above her head and the ring became tighter as the cards began rotating around the space in her hand. The circle became tighter and tighter as Sheena held her hand in front of her down in front of her at an angle. "By the power of Efreet! Burn!" The cards launched forward and smashed against Aqua's body in the shape and consistency of a giant fireball. With all the cards attached to the giant dragon, as Sheena began to descend to the ground she held her hand out in front of her as all the charms attached to Aqua gave off a bright light. "I'll show you my powers!" Sheena said and moved her arms, slowly, but in no feasible pattern to the untrained observer. "Grand Quasi Seal!" The cards exploded and Aqua was engulfed in the blast. As Sheena dropped to the ground, crouching, she breathed. "Whew." She stood up. "I hope someone else owed a miracle, cause that was mine." When the dust cleared the nine headed nightmare was gone and on the ground lay a twitching, moaning Aqua that appeared to be in quite the extreme amount of pain.

Presea, seeing the battle was over, let Ichigo get up. The substitute Soul Reaper took one look at Aqua on the ground and asked, "Why is Aqua in pain?"

"She turned her own body into a monster. Now she herself has also been hurt by the battle," Tenebrae stated. He then said much more calmly, "Aqua, although you are a Centurion, you loved Richter."

Aqua began to cry as she proceeded to dissolve into her core state. "Master Richter," she sobbed, "I was only able to buy you a little time. Please forgive me." She then fully turned into a core.

Emil picked up the core and looked at it. He then handed it to Marta. "Marta, will you hold onto her for me?"

"O…kay? But aren't you going to reforge your bond with her?" Marta asked.

"No. It can wait. I think it would be cruel to hatch her and then form a pact with her right now," Emil told her.

"Okay, I understand," Marta said and pocketed the core.

"Tenebrae, did you say Aqua was in love with Richter?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah I didn't think Centurions could feel emotions like that," Emil said.

"I must admit my own surprise. However just as cores may affect the hearts of people, a strong will may also affect the cores," Tenebrae stated.

"I think I know what you mean," Lloyd spoke out, "The human heart seems fragile, but it's actually pretty tough."

"Yeah. When someone feels anger or sadness, they can affect other people with their emotions. And sometimes there's nothing you can do to help them, even if you want to," Genis stated.

"But you can also spread positive emotions! And there are plenty of times when people's hearts are touched and they don't even realize it," Marta continued the topic.

"That is true. Aqua must have been influenced by the strength of Richter's conviction, and it changed her. It may very well be your hearts that hold the key to success in the coming struggle," Tenebrae concluded.

"Anyway," Ichigo stepped forward and looked up the tunnel Aqua had come from, "I take it the Ginnungagap is just up ahead."

"Indeed," Kratos said, "This is the path leading straight to it."

"Well, let's go then. We need to stop Richter," Emil declared.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded in agreement.

* * *

**The door to the Ginnungagap**

When the party arrived at Ratatosk's humble abode, which included the Ginnungagap, Richter was standing at the door facing into it. "Richter!" Emil called out to him. "There you are."

Richter turned around to face the group, "I'm afraid that you're too late, Emil—no, Ratatosk. You see I have already summoned more demons."

"Aqua already told us everything. She told us exactly why you're doing this. I understand that losing your friend was agonizing for you, even heart-breaking, but turning the entire world into Niflheim just to resurrect a single person, one single life is not right! Do you really think that Aster would be happy to come back to a world completely ruled by demons?" Emil asked Richter.

Richter balled up his fist and scowled. He clenched his teeth in hatred. "You dare tell me what to do? You who wear Aster's face?" he asked and then shouted, "You who murdered Aster in cold blood?" The room shook as Richter's entire body became engulfed in flames and began to morph.

Emil took a deep breath and then drew out his sword. "Very well then! I'll just stop you by force!"

Emil ran at Richter only to stop when Richter emerged from the flames surrounding him. His hair had gone from auburn to a flaming orange-red. His glasses had dissolved away, but his vision had been enhanced by the demonic power he now wielded. His sword and axe were now the consistency of pure magma. Richter's dark gray coat turned a midnight black. A fiery battle aura surrounded him. Before Emil could blink, Richter charged forward and got the summon spirit right in the chest with his blade. Emil gasped and then clutched his wound.

"Emil!" Marta ran forward to his side to heal his wound.

"Richter, this is not what Aster wanted," Emil winced staring down the demonized half-elf.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about him while taking his form!" Richter shouted.

"It's true that I killed him, but—"

Richter cut Emil off, "Then cease!"

"I won't!" Emil refused, "Do you really think someone who said 'courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality' would want to sacrifice the world just to come back to life?"

"He's right Richter!" Marta chided as she healed Emil's wound. "I know you're better than this!"

"What do you know? My methods are _my_ business. I won't take orders from you!" Richter shouted.

"Please tell me your true intentions," Emil requested.

"My true intentions," Richter said and shook the blood off his blade, "That's simple." He pointed his blade at Emil. "My true intentions are to kill you Emil! To banish Ratatosk from this world! This is for the good of the world!"

"You blockhead!" Marta shouted, "You may be hurt, but Emil is hurt by all this as well!"

"Then curse me!" Richter said and charged forward, "From the land of the dead!" He swung down his axe as Marta held onto Emil for dear life, but Richter suddenly turned at the last moment to stop a demon fang attack as Lloyd entered the battle.

He then saw Ichigo powering up. "Ban-kai!" the teen shouted and emerged in his amped up form. "Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo then wasted no time donning his mask and putting on Shadow's ring and charged forward. Richter blocked Ichigo's strike with his axe. The two engaged in a weapon's lock.

"So the Shepard of Regeneration will lead this world to destruction?" Richter asked.

"I trust Emil, the summon spirit known as Ratatosk," Ichigo stated.

"Ratatosk is intent on destroying the world," Richter stated.

"Look who's the pot calling the kettle black," Ichigo retorted.

"Hmph, I suppose that's how it would look from where you're standing," Richter muttered.

He was loud enough for Ichigo to hear him though, "What the hell is wrong with you? Look at you. You've turned against the entire world just to get revenge for your fallen friend. I understand what it's like to lose someone you care about, but you don't need to turn into a selfish world hating bastard because of it. I lost my mother. I was a kid. It sucked. I got over it. You're a grown man. Grow up a little. If you're just going to ignore what I say and fight us I will knock you to the ground."

Richter flung Ichigo off and shouted, "Try it if you can, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"I will, and I'll succeed, you'll see!" Ichigo shouted.

"Then bring it on!" Richter shouted. In the next moment Marta and Emil were by the rest of the group and Ichigo acted as if he hadn't moved from the spot he was standing, but Richter could tell through the flow of mana in the air that Ichigo had moved the two of them in a fraction of a millisecond. _He's so fast._

"Here I come Richter," Ichigo said and put both hands on Tensa Zangetsu, holding it like a baseball bat, "Prepare yourself." He charged Getsuga all throughout the blade and then fired. "Getsuga Tensho!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Yes I am that much of an asshole to cut the chapter right there XD. I have to. There are two more battles I have to do after the Richter fight and then I still have to conclude the series. It's plausible that next chapter may actually be the final chapter, but I'll see what's what. See ya folks. Till next time)**


	31. Unwavering Conviction

**(A/N: Ichigo Vs Richter. The battle begins and ends now!)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho came swinging forward and attacked Richter.

"Come into the flames!" Richter shouted, "Mortal Hell!" A wreath of flame covered Richter's body and lessened the effects of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. The dark soul reaper charged forward and made to attack, but Richter swung up with his sword and then attacked Ichigo with his axe. The teen dodged. "Enduring Flames!" Richter turned and swung sending out a wave of flame at Ichigo, who blocked with his sword and dissipated the attack with reflexive Getsuga.

"Lloyd, are you not going to fight?" Presea asked.

"Ichigo and I discussed it on the way over," Lloyd said folding his arms as Ichigo and Richter began fighting a midair battle. "Ichigo said that mask he wears only lasts a short while, once it crumbles he'll be weaker, but by that time he should be able to weaken Richter to the point that when I join the fight I'll be able to stand on par with their level."

"I don't know what's more amazing the fact that Ichigo came up with a strategy or the fact that you're actually restraining yourself," Genis teased.

"What was that, Genis?" Lloyd snapped, only for a shockwave of energy to head the group's way. Everyone shielded themselves to stand their ground.

"Wow, they are really going at it," Sheena commented.

"Seriously it's probably best our bud stays here to begin with. If he went out there now he'd get turned to charcoal," Zelos stated. Lloyd nodded in acknowledgment.

"So wait, Ichigo's still more powerful than you Lloyd?" Emil questioned.

"Of course he is, and he probably always will be," he smiled at Emil, "But that's what makes him such a good friend and role model right?" Emil nodded in agreement.

The group watched as Ichigo continued to contend with Richter in their midair battle. Ichigo swung down and Richter crossed his weapons over his body to block the teen.

"I see demonizing yourself has helped you see better, or did the flames just burn your glasses off?" Ichigo taunted.

"Taunting me? Are you sure it's not you who needs to grow up a little?" Richter shot back. "And you're one to talk about demonizing."

"It wasn't my choice to make and there's a difference between utilizing the darkness and utilizing evil," Ichigo retorted.

"Hmph," Richter shrugged off.

Ichigo shifted his weight and slid his sword into Richter's rather than pushing down. He managed to shift the red head off his balance and then thrust forward with his sword to run Richter through. The demon user teleported back a safe distance to avoid receiving damage and with a swing of his sword launched a fire ball at Ichigo who deflected the attack with his Getsugaed hand. "Try this!" Ichigo stretched out his spiritual wings. "Getsuga Danmaku!" **(Moon Fang Barrage)** thousands of tiny getsuga blasts shot forward from Ichigo's wings and pelted Richter like fast falling hail.

"Too easy," Richter scoffed. He charged his own mana. "Glare Beam!" Richter swung his axe and seemed to tear a hole in the time space continuum, which then fired blasts of red magma at Ichigo's blasts of getsuga. The shots countered each other and Raine and Marta both had to cast Field Barrier to protect the group from the deflected shots.

Using his wings to enhance his speed Ichigo rushed forward. Richter too, used the power of the demonic realm to launch at high speeds. To the human eye it would've looked as if the two had passed each other, but after a few moments Ichigo and Richter each received wounds along their shoulders. Ichigo turned and fired off another Getsuga Tensho. Richter turned and cast flame lance, but his attack was overtaken by Ichigo's. "Too weak!" Ichigo appeared behind Richter, employing a trick he had watched his hollow used and stabbed Richter through the back from behind as Richter got caught by Ichigo's blade and his Getsuga.

"Yeah!" Lloyd cheered.

"He got him!" Marta cried.

"I wouldn't count Richter out just yet," Nel said and pointed, "Look."

Back up above ground Richter was standing a distance from Ichigo. His blood, due to the effects of the demonic empowerment, had now turned as orange as Ichigo's hair. He now had a nice stab wound where Ichigo had ran him through. He was also bleeding along a few places in his chest and his coat had been damaged a bit. "Give up," Ichigo exclaimed to Richter. "This is the end of the line. If you continue to fight me you'll lose for sure. Perhaps die."

"You think this is enough to defeat me?" Richter scowled. Ichigo watched in surprise as the wounds began to close up. "I won't lose!" Richter's battle aura flared with furious intensity. "I will avenge Aster's death!" He threw his axe as it turned into a spear and ran Ichigo through the stomach. There was a scorching pain, but it subsided momentarily. Richter put both hands on his blade and rushed forward and slashed Ichigo down his front. "I am!" he withdrew the spear, as it morphed it back into an axe and slashed Ichigo in the arm with his blade, spinning the teen around due to velocity used to swing it. "The Lord of the Flames!" Richter swung down with intense force, with both weapons, and slammed Ichigo to the ground with intense force before shooting off a jet stream of fire and incinerating the ground where Ichigo lay.

"Ichigo!" Emil called out in worry.

"Pfft," Zelos wagged his finger, "There's no way that finished him. Ichigo's the type of guy that has to get pummeled and backed into a corner before he brings out his second wind and kicks everyone's ass."

"I think that's the second time you and I have ever had the same opinion," Sheena chuckled.

And it was so, as Richter dropped to the ground. Ichigo rose from the flames. The top of his Shihakusho had been blown away, but he was still standing. In fact, even though his Shihakusho was gone, his chest was coated in Getsuga. In fact, besides the clothing damage, Ichigo hadn't taken very much serious injury, at least what was visible. In reality he had some heavy duty lacerations that burned like a hot pot handle over an open flame, but Zangetsu's energies helped keep him from feeling the effects…at least for now. "That's impossible!" Richter stared straight at Ichigo.

"Sorry, Richter, but it's going to take a lot more than that to finish me," Ichigo told him. "You see, I can't afford to lose to someone like you and I intend to finish this with a single strike." Ichigo spun the chain on Tensa Zangetsu as a wild amount of mana and spirit energy became drawn into it until it looked like Ichigo was twirling a giant disc of Getsuga. He then hurled it at Richter at such a speed the demonized half-elf was unable to dodge and Tensa Zangetsu impacted upon Richter's body. The Getsuga around it flickered around him like a bonfire gone out of control. Ichigo then brought his Getsugaed hands, in their clawed state out in front of him. "In this form I can utilize the full extent of my hollowfication without losing control." Thick red energy could be seen forming in between Ichigo's interlocked wrists, but it quickly shifted to a light blue, the same light blue that was visible when Ichigo used his Shikai's Getsuga Tensho. "This is a technique reserved for hollows. Others like me can use it, but I've never been able to fully understand how to use it," he drew his hands back and the flickering energy condensed into a sphere. "Until today!" He thrust his hands forward and blasted the energy in a bright bluish-white wave. "Cero!" The energy went barreling forward and interlocked with the damage dealt to Richter's body and there was a searing explosion that even Ichigo had to wince.

Lloyd folded his arms, "I guess I won't be doing any fighting after all."

Ichigo called back his sword via telekinesis and saw Richter on the ground, bleeding and badly damaged. He was back to his normal self. The power of the demon world had been purged from his body. Ichigo's mask shattered and he was left using only Shadow's ring. He staggered for a moment as he usually did when his mask disappeared without his consent and because Shadow's Ring had been sucking up a vast amount of his spirit energy in order to be used it was even worse. Still he maintained the form in case Richter decided to strike back, but he didn't. Ichigo sighed and removed Shadow's ring, feeling a lot stronger, as he stood in his Bankai's form. The damage to his Shihakusho repaired itself since the damage was based off his reiatsu and Shadow's ring had absorbed quite a bit and gave what it had borrowed back to Ichigo.

The teen turned towards Emil, "Go on. Your door awaits you to lock it."

Emil went up to the Ginnungagap, and used the power of the seven centurions that had been hatched to lock the door, but recoiled when there were unholy shrieks from the demons beyond the gate and fierce pounding on the door so much that visible pulsations of energy could be seen.

"The demons are using all the power they have to open the door!" Tenebrae called out.

"Here," Richter groaned from the ground and reached into his jacket for a bright crystalized stone and handed it to Ichigo. "Use this."

Ichigo examined the rock. "What's this?" he asked.

Kratos recognized it, "That's the sacred stone."

"The what?" Lloyd asked.

"The sacred stone. It's a priceless artifact that turns the mana in your body into flames. Mana is a toxic poison to demons. It would be effective in keeping the door closed. But I gave that back to the elves after we gave rise to the new world tree before Mithos left," Kratos stated. "Why do you have it?"

Richter was quick to give his response "I sent someone out to the hidden village of the elves to get it for me. If you use it along with the Cruxis Crystal held by the Chosen, then it's possible to seal this door without Ratatosk being present."

"Yes of course," Kratos said in understanding, "The Cruxis Crystal has the ability to stop its host's internal clock, and grant them eternal life. So you were willing to burn your own body's mana for all eternity and become a human sacrifice in order to guard this door? That is quite a daring scheme."

"Yes, because that way Aster could come back to life, Ratatosk would die, and the door would be protected. The world would be saved," Richter explained and then sighed, "But in the end I was defeated."

Emil suddenly crouched down on the ground and groaned.

Marta ran forward to his side. "Emil, what's wrong?"

Psychotic, evil laughter, matching Ichigo's voice in pitch and tone suddenly began emitting from Emil. "No," Ichigo whispered softly. And then shouted, "Marta watch out!"

Emil turned suddenly and grabbed Marta by the throat, "Now nothing can stand in my way. Once I bind Aqua to my will, I will regain all of my power!"

"I…I can't breathe…Emil," Marta gasped.

"I said hand over Aqua's core, right now!"

"Ratatosk stop it!" Ichigo shouted. He made to run forward and save Marta, but Richter, with his battered body tackled Emil with his shoulder, allowing Marta to be freed. Richter then fell to the ground, having exerted the last of his energy he could use and was unable to move. Any more exertion and he'd pass out or die from exhaustion.

Ichigo caught Marta as she fell back. "Ratatosk, are you really going to destroy us all?" Ichigo asked him.

"Of course!" Ratatosk ran forward and attacked Ichigo with unrelenting fury. Ichigo could've easily counterattacked, but was unwilling to. He wanted to believe in Ratatosk and Emil. And then all of a sudden Ratatosk backed off clutching his head and wildly swining. "Damn it! Stop interfering!"

Emil's voice broke through, "Marta!"

"Emil!" she cried out in worry.

"I'm so sorry. I tried to use Verius to seal away Ratatosk's personality so I could keep in charge, but…it's not enough," Emil said with effort.

_I knew it. Ratatosk's willpower is still way too strong._ Ichigo growled to himself.

"No!" Marta grabbed hold of Emil. "Fight it Emil! I know you can!"

"Stop interfering!" Ratatosk's voice boomed and smacked Marta away. He then dropped to the ground on his knees. He put one hand on the ground and clutched his chest with the other.

Emil's voice came through, "Help me Marta, please!" Emil pleaded, "You've got…to stop me." He let out a gasping breath. "Turn me…into a core and…seal the door."

His body pulled up and Ratatosk's voice came out, "Stop it! I won't let you!" He quickly fell back to the ground.

"This is it…I can't hold myself back any longer. Please…Marta," Emil panted.

"Emil!" Marta ran to his side, but after a few short moments Emil's body stood up and took a rather confident stance.

"Finally," Ratatosk stated, "I got that insect out of my way," he pointed his sword at Marta. "Now...hand over Aqua!"

"Emil!" Ichigo called out.

"It's pointless!" Ratatosk shot back. "That sappy little wimp is gone for now!"

"No…" Marta backed away. "It can't be. Emil…I just want—"

"What? You want to fight me? How amusing. I thought that you didn't want me to disappear, either. Now be a good girl and give me Aqua's core. If you do, then I just might spare your life," Ratatosk said to Marta.

Marta balled her fist and then, with a defiant glare, unleashed her spinner. "No. I'll fight you instead."

Ratatosk recoiled, "You can't be serious."

"I'll fight you too," Lloyd said stepping up to the plate.

"You defeat me? That's a laugh! You stupid humans are ridiculous! I warn you, you'll regret it!" Ratatosk smirked.

"Then I'll take you on instead," Ichigo said stepping in front of Marta and Ichigo.

"Are you nuts?" Marta asked. "You just fought!"

"Marta's right Ichigo, leave this to us," Lloyd told him.

"I know that, but Shadow's ring gave me back what left me panting like a dog. I'm good to go if I use just my Bankai. Emil's spiritual pressure has never been that much stronger than yours, even when Ratatosk took hold of him. In fact I'd say they'd roughly be about the same. Even with that said, you've never beaten me in a fight except that one time I was using my Shikai. I'll be fine."

Lloyd growled, "All right, but if I think you're in trouble I'm stepping in whether you like it or not!" Lloyd said. He hoisted Richter's body upon his shoulders and jutted his head to the barrier that was protecting the rest of the group. "Come on Marta!"

"So you're going to fight me alone?" Ratatosk chuckled.

Ichigo swung his blade and pointed it at the summon spirit. "I said it before. Lloyd's never beaten me in a fight before whenever I used my Bankai. You and he are on roughly the same level. If he can't beat me what chance do you have? Besides I taught you everything you know about swordplay. Or don't you remember?"

Ratatosk laughed maniacally, "An excellent point, but I think we're about to witness a case of the student surpassing the master."

"We'll just see about that," Ichigo stated.

"Whenever you're ready," Ratatosk goaded.

"Psychos first," Ichigo taunted.

"Grr," Ratatosk growled, "You asked for it!" He ran towards Ichigo as fast as he could and leapt with a kick. "Havoc Strike!" Ichigo dodged out of the way and struck at Ratatosk who backflipped out of the way. "Demon Fang!" Ratatosk attacked Emil with the shock Ichigo countered with a weakly powered Getsuga Tensho. However the shockwave was a decoy for Ratatosk's real attack. "Heavenly Tempest!" Ratatosk went spiraling forward. Ichigo blocked with his sword. "Raging Waters!" Using the power of Aqua, acquisition of the core was enough for Ratatosk to utilize her power, Ratatosk unleashed a jet stream of water at Ichigo. The teen got sweapt up into the current and Ratatosk went barreling forward through the air, "Swallow Fury!" He delivered several successive strikes to Ichigo.

_This is weird, _Ichigo said as he blocked the strikes, _Ratatosk should be exponentially more powerful than this. If he wanted to stand a better chance against me he should activate Fiend Fusion. If he wanted to beat me why doesn't he use Ain Soph Aur? _Ichigo found Ratatosk's tactics to be rather peculiar.

"Quake Assault!" Ratatosk front flipped and created a stalagmite and a shockwave simultaneously. "Savage Photon!" The disc of light came blasting through the stalagmite. Ichigo deflected with Getsuga. Ratatosk then leapt over the stalagmite. His defenses were wide open.

_Got him, _Ichigo tightened his gaze and drew in his power. "Getsuga Tensho!" As the attack went barreling in, he saw it for a fraction of a millisecond, but he saw it nonetheless before the attack engulfed his opponent. Ichigo saw Ratatosk brace for impact. _You damn fool! _Ichigo went over to the fallen summon spirit, who was in pain, but hadn't taken any damage that was too serious and extended his hand to him. "Are you an idiot?" Ichigo shouted.

"Wha-" Emil's voice bled through followed by Ratatosk's, "What are you talking abuot?"

"You can cut the theatrics Emil, I know you're faking it," Ichigo stated. The blonde showed genuine surprised.

"What?" Marta pulled her hands up to her face and gasped.

"Emil? Is that true?" Lloyd asked.

Tenebrae appeared and explained, "Emil intends to take responsibility for Lord Ratatosk's crime...in exchange for trapping Lord Ratatosk inside himself. He has already planned to be sealed away to atone for the murder of Aster."

"Baka!" Ichigo shouted. "What were you thinking Emil?"

"I'm sorry," Emil apologized as he stood up, staring at the ground, "I used Verius' power to drown out my other self the one inside me, and I did it by force. I'm so ashamed. It's the same thing as killing him! I have no right to live a life of peace after what I've done."

Ichigo breathed on his knuckles and whacked Emil across the face. Emil screamed like a little girl after getting hit and rubbed his sore spot. "Baka! Mega Baka!" Ichigo shouted. "What were you thinking?"

"Emil please tell me this isn't what you meant when you said you'd work something out," Marta cried out. "I thought that you…I thought that you had already accepted Ratatosk as a part of yourself."

"Don't you see Marta?" Emil said to her. "There's nothing to accept. Don't you understand Marta? Once Ratatosk is sealed away, his will will be gone as well."

"Then don't seal him away. Stand up to him and try to reach an understanding!" Ichigo suggested.

"Emil, don't you remember what you said?" Marta asked him. "You and Ratatosk, both of you told me not to run away from Daddy!"

"But once Ratatosk and I combine our personalities, I could forget everything and then set out to destroy mankind," Emil slumped.

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality," Marta quoted. After a pause she then said, "I trust you, Emil. No, I trust both you and Ratatosk."

"Marta's right," Ichigo said. "I can't believe you wanted me to kill you. I already blame myself for my mother even though I didn't lay a finger on her and was only indirectly the cause. Do you think I want to have the blood of one of my closest friends on my hands? You're lucky I noticed you flinch! That's the one thing that still separates you from Ratatosk."

"We believe in you, Emil," Lloyd spoke up, "We trust you. We always have. So why is it you can't believe in yourself?"

"I once heard a saying," Ichigo said. "Believe not in the me that believes in you or the you that believes in me. Believe in the you that believes in yourself. You got that?"

Emil nodded. "All right, I'll try…but…"

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"Well…the last time I spoke with the other me I was asleep and well…I don't feel all that tired."

"Ichigo don't soul reapers use a special kind of meditation to commune with their Zanpakuto?" Marta asked him.

"Yeah," Ichigo scratched his head, "Do you think that'll work in this scenario?"

"Dwarven vow sixteen," Lloyd perked up, "You can do anything if you try."

"Well okay then…but what should I do?" Emil asked.

Ichigo sat down and crossed his legs and then placed Zangetsu over his lap. "Sit like this, close your eyes and relax your mind."

"Ah, okay," Emil said. He sat down crossed his legs and placed his sword over his lap.

"How long do you think it'll take him to get into his own head?" Marta asked.

"Dunno," Ichigo said as he returned to Shikai and put Zangetsu back on his back, "All we can do is wait and see."

"Well it's not like we don't have the time. If we want to make your boasted three hour time limit we have about an hour and a half. Considering the time it will take us to leave once we're done I'd say Emil has about forty five minutes to get into his mind, reach an understanding with his other self and get out," Kratos stated, his arms folded.

"That's sort of pushing it then," Ichigo sighed remembering how long it took him to get into his own inner world that one time. "Good luck Emil."

* * *

**Emil/Ratatosk's "Inner World"**

Emil opened his eyes to the world that existed inside his mind. The white light that had been used to seal away Ratatosk was there but it faded and his other persona appeared. He took one look at Emil and smirked, "I thought that you were going to have Verius seal me away...and then sacrifice yourself to close the Ginnungagap."

"Then I guess you know what I'm thinking," Emil said sternly.

"Now let's find out if there's enough room inside of me for you, for the both of us." Ratatosk said and drew out his sword. It was different from the one Emil was using. The blade was long and crooked and it was glowing a reddish color. "This is the true form our weapon. I received it once we got Aqua, unfortunately I couldn't do anything with it. However, since you want to make yourself unique to me you'll have to fight with the sword you've been using."

"That's not a problem," Emil materialized the Demonic Torment, "Let's begin!"

"All right then, show me your powers!" Ratatosk ran forward.

"I'll show you my powers!" Emil declared and ran forward towards Ratatosk.

"Sword Rain Alpha!" Both shouted together. Their blades collided against each other and then both backflipped and unleashed the shockwave from the attack.

"Not bad," Ratatosk said taking a stance, "It seems we're evenly matched. I never thought you'd have the strength to stand up to me."

"My friends all trust me. Ichigo told me not to believe the him who believes in me, but to believe in the me that believes in myself," Emil said.

Ratatosk chuckled, "Our master's full of wise words of wisdom. Very well then. Let's do this!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**(A/N: Ratatosk Vs Emil. The final battle is here. Next chapter will be the ABSOLUTE LAST CHAPTER of Tales of Bleach: Return of the Samurai. You can bet on that…unless of course I decide to split the remainder of the story into two chapters [a chapter and an epilogue] like I did with Unreal Society, but we'll see. See you later everybody).**


	32. Emil's Resolve, an End To the Conflict

**(A/N: We're here on the home stretch. The final chapter begins.)**

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

After the clash of their initial attacks Emil and Ratatosk ran at each other. "Demon Fang!" both shouted at the same time. The attacks collided into each other and cancelled each other out. Ratatosk took the initiative and struck at Emil who shoved him away. Ratatosk took two backsteps.

_He's not half bad, _Ratatosk admitted, he observed Emil as the green-eyed blonde took a defensive stance. _In here this is where we are equals. The only mana we can draw on is our own. Since I can't draw on the power of the Centurions we're stuck with our own artes and skills. Still, there's one attack I have that he doesn't. _Ratatosk took a familiar stance. "Ain Soph Aur!" He launched the attack at Emil.

Emil dodged out of the way, but got hit by the aftershock. He front flipped to maintain his balance and then ran back at Ratatosk, only to realize his counterpart had disappeared. He turned only to see Ratatosk was now behind him prepared to strike at his neck. Emil turned and blocked and skidded back a distance. He stood up and thrust his sword forward. "Light Spear Cannon!" Ratatosk countered with the same move and the attacks cancelled each other. Emil then ran forward and took the initiative. Ratatosk blocked.

"Well, I'm surprised you're pressing the attack, I always thought you were a coward," the red-eyed summon spirit scoffed.

"Just because I'm a coward doesn't mean I can't fight!" Emil shouted. He took a backstep and swung. "Dual Death!"

"Dual Death!" The shockwaves cancelled each other out.

"Heavenly Tempest!" Emil went barreling towards Ratatosk. Ratatosk leapt back and up into the air.

"Raining—" he didn't get a chance to execute the attack as he saw Emil hurtling up into the air.

"Swallow Fury!" Emil struck Ratatosk no less than five times. Both combatants then dropped to the ground.

"Not bad," Ratatosk acted as if he wasn't even affected by Emil's blows, "You actually managed to scratch me. I must commend you."

"I refuse to lose and I refuse to back down. The only way you understand things is through violence," Emil declared. "And so I'll show you my resolve. Show you that I'm not just some wimp you can push around."

"Then show me," Ratatosk chuckled. "I'll admit that you're good, but you've got a long way to go. Fiend Fusion!" Ratatosk activated the stat booster arte.

Emil copied the arte. "Ready when you are."

Ratatosk simply smirked and charged straight at Emil who ran towards him, matching his speed. Both turned their bodies towards each other and collided their swords against one another. They turned back the opposite way and collided into a weapons lock. Ratatosk then slid his blade down Emil's sword and pressed the hooked portion of it onto Emil's sword. He pushed down and punched Emil in the face. "Dark Radiance!" Emil, taking a moment to gather himself got flung back by the shockwave. He quickly backward somersaulted, as he hit the ground, and got back up. Ratatosk came charging in again.

"Ravaging Tiger!" Emil performed his anti-aerail spin as Ratosk came in. Ratatosk dodged to the side and attacked.

"Roaring Tiger!" Emil was ill prepared having not yet recovered from his own attack and was beaten down by Ratatosk's arte. He then used backsteps to escape Ratatosk's range. Ratatosk laughed, "You really are a coward. I thought you were going to face me, but here you are running away." Emil grit his teeth and growled. "I knew it, there's no way you could ever hope to beat me. I'm simply better than you. That's all there is to it."

"You're not better than me!" Emil shouted. "I'll prove it! I'll prove I can fight on your level!"

"Then quit cowering and come on. Attack me head on!" Ratatosk goaded.

"Very well!" Emil ran straight at Ratatosk. "Converging Fury!" Emil front flipped and slammed his blade on the ground and sent an elongated shockwave at his red-eyed counterpart. Again Ratatosk countered with the same arte, but by the time he looked up from the end of the move execution Emil was already in the air. "Ravaging Tiger!" He spun towards Ratatosk and knocked him into the air. "Roaring Tiger!" Emil spiraled forward and then unleashed a fury of needle-like shockwaves on Ratatosk, dealing more damage and both dropped to the ground.

Ratatosk took a back jump, before taking a running start. "Havoc Strike!" He attacked Emil with a leaping kick. Emil side stepped and slashed, but Ratatosk landed, backflipped, spun and blocked. He then used the hook on his blade to pull Emil to the side and slugged Emil in the face again sending the compassionate blonde reeling away. "Phoenix Rush!" Ratatosk spiraled and went slashing towards Emil and cut him up pretty good. He landed on the other side of Emil and turned around. "What's the matter? Can't keep up?" He taunted.

Emil closed one eye and wiped the blood away from his jaw before opening both. "Not even," he took a stance. "I can still fight you. I won't give up not until I win."

"Then go ahead. Make my day," Ratatosk encouraged.

Emil and Ratatosk ran at each other again. When their blades collided this time there was a massive shockwave of energy caused by their weapons lock. Before he could pull the same trick he had always been doing, Emil kicked Ratatosk and sent him back. Ratatosk backflipped and regained his footing, but Emil was charging in. "Blade Fury!" He slashed Ratatosk a good few times and then followed up the attack. "Swallow Fury!" After the final strike, Ratatosk took a moment to recuperate and pushed down on Emil's chest and shoved him down onto the ground. He then stabbed his sword down towards Emil's forehead. Emil dodge rolled out of the way and got up. "Demon Fang!"

Ratatosk dodged to the side and came rushing in. "Sword Rain: Alpha!" He struck Emil 14 times in the chest and then let out the following shockwave. Emil got sent flying back, a trail of blood followed as he slid along the ground on his stomach. He got up again. "Still you resist. I must commend your determination," Ratatosk said and flung his arm out at his side, "but you might as well give up. You've taken too many wounds. Continue to fight back and it'll only prove fruitless."

"Never," Emil said getting up, blood splattered the ground. "I refuse to give up. I am…"

"You are...?" Ratatosk didn't understand what Emil was trying to say.

"I am…" Emil began to glow in a blue-green aura and then shouted with all his lung power. "I AM NOT GOING TO END HERE!" he thrust his arms out his sides. The shockwave of which caused Ratatosk to take a defensive stance, but in the few moments he did Emil was already rushing in with a battle cry. He then landed strike upon strike on Ratatosk. "I WILL NOT!" He slashed past Ratatosk, pivoted and flipped forward, letting loose an explosion of energy. "LOSE!" Ratatosk was flung far across the battlefield along the ground. Emil stood where he was, panting, as blood dripped from his body.

"Tch," Ratatosk grumbled and pushed himself up off the ground, "Man, what a joke." He turned around to face Emil. The damage to his body was vast. He had a multi-layer burn running down the front of his chest. Skin was peeled away on the right side of his body. The eye of which was swollen, burned and bloodshot. "I never thought that a weak little boy like you would be a match for me. I concede. You win." The weapons of both halves of the Summon Spirit of Monsters vanished and their wounds healed completely.

Emil walked up to his counterpart and said, "This journey has changed both of us. I now realize that I need you. I need your strength."

"And now I realize for the first time that your kindness is not a weakness. I will accept you as part of me, as a show of respect for that tiny bit of courage you have inside."

* * *

**The Ginnungagap**

"And I will trust you, Ratatosk. After all, you are a part of me," Emil said as he came back into consciousness into the world.

"Welcome back," Ichigo smirked at him.

"Yes, thank you," Emil said, "I believed in the me that believes in me."

"Yeah," Ichigo ruffled Emil's hair, "I'm proud of you Emil." Emil smiled blushing slightly. Marta then handed him Aqua's core.

Emil hatched it, but after the hatching Ratatosk took over. "I take back what I said about annihilating mankind," he announced. Everyone cheered, but Ratatosk quickly killed the mood. "However, I can't fully guard the door by myself."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked him.

"The ancient seal on the door is no longer working since another being forced it open," he looked at Richter.

"Sorry," Richter apologized, pulled out a spare pair of glasses and pushed them up, "Looks like I'll need to go ahead with my original plan to seal the door with my own mana."

"If that's what you plan to do, then allow me to offer my assistance," Ratatosk told Richter. Richter was confused. Ratatosk explained, "I will rewrite the natural law of the world while you are guarding the door. I am willing to do this to help lessen your suffering as well."

"What exactly do you mean by 'rewrite'?" Kratos asked the summon spirit.

"Well you see, mana didn't originally exist in this world. The arrival of the comet Derris-Kharlan and me, and finally the transfer of the Giant Kharlan Tree onto this world, resulted in mana creating life. So I will take mana from everything that comprises this world... and then use it as a seal for the Ginnungagap," Ratatosk stated.

"B-but if you do that the land will die!" Genis cried out in protest.

"No it won't," Ratatosk refuted, "Although it will take time, I plan to write a new law so that won't ever happen. All life that flourishes on this land will no longer require mana to live. Humans, elves, the earth, everything."

"Summon spirits too?" Sheena questioned.

"No. Summon spirits are kept alive by the presence of mana. After all, we summon spirits are not native to this world to begin with," Ratatosk stated.

"Then what happens to the summon spirits when mana goes away?" Ichigo asked.

"Mana itself will remain in the world. It'll just disappear from all living beings that comprise it. And as long as the new World Tree keeps continuing to produce more mana, it will surround the world and will eventually flow freely into the door's seal. And from there on I will control the flow of mana in this world from the Ginnungagap. It will be my duty as overseer and as the other summon spirit of the tree," Ratatosk explained.

"This may also be beneficial to Soul Society. If nothing comprises mana then it would be impossible for almost all beings to see spirits," Nel put in.

"So what changes will come about to our world?" Zelos asked.

"Once it's cut off from the protection of mana, the world will eventually decline and die," Ratatosk stated.

"What do you mean by 'decline'?" Presea asked.

"Well, the world will die once it reaches the end of its lifespan. It may be billions even trillions of years from now. Nobody really knows for sure. The world will return back to its original form to the way it was before the Giant Kharlan Tree was moved here. Back to the way it was meant to be," Ratatosk responded.

"Did…Emil also return to the way he was meant to be?" Marta asked Ratatosk.

"Yes Marta. I believe you're right. I returned to what I was meant to be. I am Emil, but I am Ratatosk as well. And this may very well be my true form," Ratatosk answered.

"It's just like how Martel, Mithos' sister, and Martel the summon spirit are one in the same person," Lloyd stated.

"Probably," Ratatosk answered.

"But you remember us don't you?" Marta asked.

"Of course," Ratatosk said and brushed the side of Marta's cheek. "How could I ever forget you? The time we spent traveling together was not time spent in vain." He dropped his hands at his sides and said. "I've learned that mankind isn't as bad as I thought." He then reached out to Marta again and removed the fake core from her forehead. "There, now you are back to the way you should be." He then stepped up right up to the entrance of the room. "Now, all of you need to go. I'm going to seal this space once and for all, so no one else ever approaches this door again. Besides, if you want to make in time to boast about making it under excessive time Ichigo you guys should leave now."

"Yeah," Ichigo walked up to the summon spirit and put hand on his shoulder. "Take care of yourself okay?" Ichigo smirked and then added. "Having you around, was like having a little brother you know?" He then left before the situation became to awkward for him.

"He is so bad at admitting his feelings," Sheena sighed as she walked up to her blonde friend. "I won't ever forget you, Emil. You better take care of yourself, all right?" She then left the room.

"See ya Emil," Zelos said to him, "And thanks a lot for helping me save my sister." He then left.

Kratos was the next to walk up. He placed something in Ratatosk's hand. "If your memory ever recovers, then you'll understand what I mean when I say this is my way of apologizing on Cruxis' behalf for betraying your trust." He then walked out the door.

"Although we only knew each other for a short while," Nel said as she walked in front of Ratatosk, "I've grown to like you Emil. You're a good friend." She held out her hand. Ratatosk was perplexed for a moment but then shook Nel's hand. "I hope we'll see each other again someday." She then left.

Regal shook the summon spirit's hand as well. "It's truly been an honor traveling with you. Take care Emil." He then exited.

"Just remember you are not alone," Presea told her friend before putting down a small bear figurine by the door entrance.

Raine walked up to the summon spirit and smiled, "I wish I could've worked with a student like you." She then left the room.

"I can't wait to tell everyone that I made friends with a summon spirit! Don't forget me Emil, okay?" Genis exclaimed. He and the monster lord bumped knuckles and the young half-elf ran off to catch up with his sister.

"We will always protect the beautiful world that you have saved for us," Colette promised and then exited.

"Emil," Lloyd said to him as he prepared to leave, "I want to believe that we'll see each other again someday. So I'm not gonna say goodbye."

"You're going to live forever, right? Even after you've sealed this place away?" Marta asked Ratatosk.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Then I'm not going to say goodbye either," she decided. "Because no matter what my heart will always be with yours, Emil." She then walked out of the room and stood just outside the entrance before turning around. "Emil," she said as the door began to close, "I'll always love you."

Ratatosk let his other persona take control for a moment. Emil turned around as the door was closing and said, "And I'll always love you too, Marta." The door then shut.

Marta then went to catch up with the group and they all eventually left the Ginnungagap.

"So now what?" Ichigo asked.

"We'll have to return to Soul Society and give a mission complete status," Hitsugaya said. "The rest of you are free to do as you please."

"Well if that's the case," Zelos said as he yawned and stretched, "I'm going home. I need my beauty rest after such an arduous adventure." He took out the Rheaird Nel had lent him and took off.

"Colette and I should be getting back to our journey to collect Exspheres," Lloyd stated. He took out a Rheaird and Colette and Lloyd took off together.

"I must be getting back to Altamira, the restoration plan will need me to oversee it," Regal stated.

"And…I must be returning home to continue help rebuilding Ozette," Presea stated. "Don't forget your body is at Altessa's place as well as your mod-soul," she told Ichigo. She then took off on a Rheaird.

"I suppose I'll return to Luin for a while. I was enjoying the peace and quiet before this whole mess started," Kratos stated. He emanated his wings and took off.

"I suppose I'll be getting back to Yuan," Nel said, "He's probably lonely without me." She took off via Sonido.

"What are you going to do?" Byakuya asked Raine.

"Genis and I will probably continue our journey and quest to make this world and easier place for half-elves to be accepted. What about you? Are you really leaving?" Raine asked the man she loved.

"I must," Byakuya stated, "I am only here as per the mission. It would be against the code of conduct for me to overstay my welcome. Beyond that with Renji and I both here the managing of the squad defaults upon our third seat. We can't leave everything to him for too long."

"I see…will I…will I ever see you again?" Raine asked.

"Who knows? It's possible," Byakuya stated. Raine and Byakuya stared at each other for a few moments before they kissed each other. Genis and Rukia covered each other's eyes, not wanting to look. Ichigo and Sheena laughed at their discomfort. After the kiss Byakuya drew out his sword and opened a Senkaimon, "Let us return to where we belong." The Soul Reapers all followed the noble captain into the Senkaimon and the door shut behind them. Raine and Genis then left after Raine wiped her eyes of threatening tears.

Sheena turned towards Ichigo, "And so what are you going to do?" she asked him.

"Well first I have to get my body and Kon back from Altessa's place," he looked at Urahara and Yoruichi, "After that it's up to them."

"Well I'd like to get back to the shop before Tessai turns Jinta into the Jinta Home Blue Plate Special," Urahara joked.

"I see…so you're going back then?" Sheena asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you," Ichigo apologized.

Sheena kissed his cheek, "Nonsense I'm glad we could have an adventure for once."

"See you around I guess then?" Ichigo scratched the back of my head.

"I suppose," she turned around and then a thought struck her. "Hold on just a second, wait for me at Altessa's place okay?"

Ichigo turned towards Urahara and Yoruichi, "Well, you heard her." The group went and got Ichigo's body and he climbed back into it and shoved Kon in the bag, much to the mod-souls chagrin. Sheena arrived a few minutes later.

"All right, let's go," she said.

"Go? Go where?" Ichigo asked.

"Where do you think?" she asked, "I'm coming with you."

"Huh?" Ichigo was not expecting this.

"Wh-what's the big deal?" she asked, "Y-you're always coming here s-so…"

"Th-there's nothing wrong with it, it's just…my family is a little…strange," Ichigo stammered, "And well…they don't really know about us…yet."

"O-oh r-really," Sheena seemed a little disappointed.

"Aw c'mon Ichigo you know you won't be able to hide this forever," Yoruichi chuckled.

"Y-yeah, b-but what am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to explain about…this," Ichigo threw his arms out at his sides to indicate the world of Aselia.

"You just leave that to me," Urahara tipped his hat.

"Now I'm even more worried," Ichigo said. Suddenly a Senkaimon opened and four hell butterflies flew out, "Hey wait a minute we're still discussing this!" Ichigo shouted at Urahara.

"What? You're the one said there was nothing wrong with it," he smirked.

Ichigo sighed in defeat. "All right fine." He turned towards Sheena. "Well let's go then. Are you ready to see my home?"

She nodded and they all stepped through the Senkaimon.

* * *

**Sheena's pov**

I recognized the walls of the place we were walking in. It reminded of when we fought Origin. "Ichigo is this—"

He caught me off, "Yeah this is the Dangai Precipice World," he responded.

"I thought so," I said. "So this is how Soul Reapers travel in between worlds is it?"

"Well normally Senkaimons are only supposed to go in between living worlds and the Soul Society, but this is my own special Senkaimon I modified in order to travel in betwee two different living worlds. The walk is twice as long and there's a bend at the midpoint to send the travelers not to the Soul Society, but to the other world to their destination," Kisuke explained.

"I see. How much farther?" I wanted to know.

"Should be only another few minutes," Ichigo said.

He was right, after about a few more minutes of walking we emptied out into what seemed like…well…the middle of nowhere. "This is where you live?" I was confused.

"Nah this is just the basement to Hat and Cloggs' shop," he said, "Where's the ladder?"

"Wait this is the basement to a store?" I asked.

"It's best if you just don't think about it," Ichigo told me.

"O-okay," I said.

Kisuke led us over to a long ladder that I climbed up. It was a really tall ladder. Ichigo was right though, it was the basement to a store. "You're a candy salesman?" I asked Urahara.

"On the surface," he said putting the fan in front of his face.

"It's best if you don't ask too many questions," Ichigo told me, "In his case," he jabbed a thumb at Urahara, "Ignorance is bliss."

"I wasn't even going to," I said. I was afraid of the answer of knowing what he meant by "on the surface".

"Right, so, let's go," I said.

"W-wait," Ichigo called out.

"Why, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Um, well you can't go out in public looking like that?" he asked indicating my outfit.

"What's wrong with it? I'm covered," I said. Ichigo sighed and massaged the brim of his nose.

Yoruichi laughed, "Sheena," Yoruichi said, "You're in for quite the culture shock."

"Huh?" I was confused.

She put a hand on my shoulder, "Come with me," she led me by the hand to another room.

* * *

**Ichigo's pov**

_I have a bad feeling about this_, I thought to myself.

"Well," Urahara put a hand on my shoulder, "I think those two might be a while," he told me, "Shall we talk about payment for using the Senkaimon this time?"

"Hey I saved the world again, cut me some slack will you?" I raged.

"And you wouldn't have if you hadn't used my Dual Senkaimon," he reminded me.

I sighed, "What do you want me to do?" I got the smile of his I was never fond of.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

I grumbled as I sat on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor around the front of the shop where so much mud had been tracked in. I finally finished and threw the scrub brush in the bucket and picked up the bucket and set it down next to the sink in the kitchen before I began to wash off the brush.

It was at that point that Urahara-san came over to me, "Oh finaly finished are you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I shot back.

"Well then next I need you to…"

"Oi! Kisuke! Ichigo! Come over here, will you?" Yoruichi-san called for us.

_For once I'm actually happy to hear her call for me_, I said to myself.

Urahara-san and I found Yoruichi-san in the sitting room over by one of the sliding doors. She was peering around it. "Come on, you look fine, trust me."

"I…I just feel so vulnerable," I could hear Sheena's voice, "Are you sure I can't carry at least one knife?"

"Do you want to get into legal trouble?" Yoruichi asked her. I heard Sheena just sigh.

"Ummm," I announced my presence.

"Come on out. Let him see," Yoruichi told her.

"O-okay," Yoruichi backed away from the door and Sheena slid it open. She was a little red in the face, most likely from embarrassment. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a brown skirt. She was wearing sneakers and long high socks. She looked like a regular school girl. Her shirt seemed kind of tight around her chest, but with a pair her size that was expected. Her kneecaps were uncovered and her shirt didn't have any cleavage, but that wasn't a problem, it actually made it easier to concentrate.

"You look great," I told her.

"R-really," she said, "I-I feel so vulnerable like this."

"Hey you'll be with me," I told her, "You'll be fine," I turned towards Yoruichi, "Where'd you get this stuff anyway?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto left a few things with Kisuke and me ever since the incident with the Arrancar," Yoruichi smirked, "I found these and figured they'd fit Sheena perfectly."

Sheena got in her usual defiant stance: arms fisted at her sides, body leaning forward a bit. "B-but it just feels so…so…"

"Soft? Thin?" I asked. I then added, "Simple?"

"Ah well…it's just…"

Yoruichi-san put a hand on her shoulder, "Relax. You'll be just fine. Just remember what we talked about."

"Yes…of course," Sheena stated.

"Right, so…I guess we'll go to my house then," I said to Sheena.

She nodded, still slightly red, "Yeah sure."

We started walking the streets, side by side. Sheena still seemed uneasy. I guess this was her first time being completely unarmed. She kept holding her hand by her chin, clenched and shaking. Eventually I just put my hands on her hand and lowered it down. "Hey, calm down," I told her, "No one is going to stare."

"B-but," she was so red faced.

"Hey if anyone tries anything I'll kick their asses," I let go of her hand. "I've been fighting thugs and the like since before we met. If I can beat them up so can you."

"O-okay," Sheena said.

She seemed a lot less nervous after that. We were walking when I saw Tatsuki come jogging up the street. She stopped when she saw me. "Oh, Ichigo where have you been?" she asked. "I dropped by your house earlier and you weren't home. And who's this?" she asked, pointing to Sheena.

I smiled slightly, _Well at least I can practice on Tatsuki_. "Tatsuki this is Sheena, my girlfriend."

"Ah so you're Tatsuki," Sheena remembered me telling her about her. Sheena bowed slightly, "I'm Sheena, Sheena Fujiybayashi. A pleasure to meet you."

"Oh so you're Sheena," Tatsuki stuck out her hand, "Orihime told me about you. Put her there." Sheena shook Tatsuki's hand.

I was surprised Tatsuki knew about Sheena. "Ichigo, really did you think Orihime is the type to keep quiet about her adventures? I'm a little annoyed you would try to hide something from me again," Tatsuki looked at me with a sneer, hands on her hips.

"Sorry," I rubbed the back of my head. "I just…didn't know how I was going to explain it."

"Well you should probably get back home. I found Yuzu on the front porch when I stopped by your house so you know what that means," she said to me.

I growled, "Agh, was I really gone for that many days?" I asked, panicking slightly. "Sheena let's go."

"Right ok," she said she waved to Tatsuki, as we headed to my place, "Bye."

_God damn it_, I thought to myself, _Dad's gonna kill me_. I remembered when the whole incident with Aizen was over and dad gave me hell after Rukia left just because Yuzu wouldn't stop crying while I was gone and out cold. She hovered over me for days. Now every time she cries the whole house turns into a soap opera. I was not having that. I was hoping it wasn't too late to fix that. When we arrived at my house Yuzu wasn't sitting at the front steps. Most likely she had gone back inside. I opened the door and announced loudly, "I'm home!"

"You're late!" My dad yelled and made to attack me, but before I knew it he was on the ground and Sheena was in a defensive stance.

"U-um Sheena," I said.

"What?" she looked at me.

"That's…my dad," I said.

She gasped and went to help him up, "Oh my gosh Mr. Kurosaki I'm so sorry."

My dad took one look at her and turned all perverted in the face. The next thing I knew I had his arm around my shoulders, "Ichigo who's the hot amazon?"

"That would my girlfriend," I told him.

"SAY WHAT?" he shouted.

I broke free from out underneath him, "Yuzu! Karin! I'm home!" I shouted.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu came running down the stairs, but stopped when she saw Sheena. "Ah, h-hello."

"Sheena, this is my sister Yuzu," I introduced her, "Yuzu this is Sheena, my girlfriend."

"Girl…friend?" Yuzu seemed surprised.

"Where's Karin?" I asked.

"I'm doing homework," Karin called from upstairs.

"Karin come down here! We have a guest!" my dad shouted.

"I'll meet them later, my school work is more important," Karin said.

"Ah Miss Sheena I bet your hungry, shall I get you something?" Yuzu wanted to know.

"Um, I suppose some tea and sushi," Sheena said.

"Tea? Sushi?" My dad pulled my aside again, "You've got quite the traditionalist."

"Quit it!" I flipped him off me. "Sheena come on, let me show you my room," I made to lead her up the stairs, "You've already met most of the family."

* * *

**3****rd**** Person pov**

Karin sat in her room doing her math when she heard chattering from outside. She opened her door and looked outside to see the familiar sight of her sister and father pressed up against her brother's door with drinking glasses against their ears. "You guys don't learn do you?" Karin asked.

"Shh," Yuzu said, "You don't understand. Ichigo brought a girl home and he said she's his girlfriend."

"Yeah and he didn't even have any hesitation in announcing it," Isshin told his eldest daughter.

"So what? Ichi-nii's eighteen now you know. It's only natural for him to have finally become accustomed to girls," Karin told her sister and father. "What's she look like anyway?"

"She's hot!" Isshin announced.

"Dad you said that about the woman you saw walking her dog the other day just because she was wearing tight fitting boots and had a cute face," Karin reminded her father.

"They were nice boots!" Isshin argued.

"My point is it doesn't take much for you to find a woman sexually attractive," Karin said and looked at Yuzu.

Suddenly the door flew open and knocked Yuzu and Isshin on their backs. "Again? Why is it every time I bring a friend home you guys act like it's the end of the world?" Ichigo shouted.

"See you made him angry again," Karin said.

"Uh th-the tea's ready," Yuzu said.

"Oh is it?" Sheena said, coming out into the hall. Karin just stared, wide eyed when she saw Sheena.

_Oh…my…god_, were the first three words to cross her mind. _Such vibrant hair…such a smooth complexion, she looked at Sheena's waist, so thin_, she looked at her chest, _so…sizeable…she's…where in the hell did Ichi-nii make a catch like that? And how?_

"Huh? Ichigo is that your other sister?" Sheena pointed to Karin.

"Huh? Yeah," Ichigo extended his arm in his dark haired sister's direction, "Sheena this is my sister Karin. Karin this is Sheena, my girlfriend."

_He really doesn't hesitate_, Karin was still in shock.

"H-how long will Miss Sheena be staying?" Yuzu, who had gotten up from off the floor, bowed and asked.

"A couple of days. I'm just visiting," Sheena said.

"Oh you're not local?" Yuzu asked.

"Sheena's from out of town. She's a senior at my school," Ichigo lied.

"Didn't know you were the type to chase after older women," Karin smirked.

"Hey!" Ichigo barked.

"I'm teasing, Ichi-nii," Karin smiled, kindly this time_. This is…the happiest I've seen him in ages. Sheena…I don't know where you came from, but…take care of my brother._

* * *

**A few days later**

Ichigo and Sheena were in the basement of Urahara's shop, having spent a few days together at the Kurosaki household. Sheena had become accustomed to Ichigo's siblings and his crazy father and the family seemed to accept her as one of their own. Isshin in particular, even going so far as to have asked, in the middle of dinner, when Ichigo and Sheena planned on having their wedding, which prompted a spit take from Ichigo right into his father's face. Sheena laughed hysterically.

Urahara opened the dual Senkaimon and a hell butterfly flew towards Sheena, "So I guess I'll see you around?" she asked Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded. "I'll be sure to visit more frequently."

"Please do," she smiled.

"I really think my family likes you," Ichigo said.

"Yeah," Sheena nodded. "Um…about what your dad said about a wedding…"

"That's just my dad being an idiot, don't think anything about it," Ichigo said.

"O-oh," Sheena seemed kind of disappointed.

Ichigo noticed this and made a diving save, "B-but, when I get out of college and I get a standing job, definitely," he told her. "I like this. I like…us."

"I like us too," Sheena said softly. She and Ichigo drew in close for a passionate kiss. They were smiling when they pulled away. "See ya around."

"Yeah see you," Ichigo waved to Sheena as she walked into the Senkaimon. He watched as it closed behind her. _Yeah…definitely…in a few more years…I'll definitely marry you._

* * *

**Two Months Later**

**The Ginnungagap**

"Is the ritual complete?" Richter asked Ratatosk.

"Yes it's complete. As of this moment none of us will be able to leave this room," Ratatosk answered.

"An eternal hell," Richter said and chuckled wryly, "I suppose it's only fitting for a man who sold his soul to demons and attempted to destroy the world. Well, it's time for me to make my sacrifice. I'm not sure how long my body will last without the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal—"

Ratatosk cut him off, "A thousand years. It will take one thousand years to draw out the mana from all living beings. After that, it will no longer be necessary to support the world with mana. Then I will use what's left to make a new seal for the door. And at that time, I will set you free from here as well."

"Then there's something I want to ask you," Richter said. "Since you're capable of dividing into both a core and a physical body...perhaps you could separate into two forms: Emil and Ratatosk, and live that way. If necessary, you could live off of my body."

"Impossible," Ratatosk stated, "I have the task of separating the mana from the world."

Tenebrae's voice echoed through the hall. "We Centurions and monsters would be happy to carry out that task, under your orders, of course. As long as you stay in contact, there's no issue with you dividing yourself in two forms."

"Lord Ratatosk, to us the lifespan of a human being is nothing more than the blink of an eye," Aqua's voice echoed.

"The fact still remains that I actually took a human life. That single act has led to all of this. And is affecting the lives of countless others. I caused all this tragedy. I can't just simply ignore it," Ratatosk responded.

"But Emil," Richter spoke up, "the other "you" regretted Aster's death, and even though the crime was not committed by his will, he tried to atone for it. Don't you think that Emil should be allowed to live out his full life as a human being?"

Verius' voice suddenly sounded through the area, "Ratatosk, your heart has spoken. It wishes you to live the life that Aster, who died at your hands, could not. I am prepared to carry out that wish for you."

"I'm sure Aster would've wanted it this way. He was such an idealist," Richter smiled.

Ratatosk closed his eyes and said, "Thank you."

* * *

**A few days later**

**Palmacosta**

Having served out her sentence as a member of the Vanguard, Marta was now the leader of a squadron of young sylvaranti women she called the New Sylvaranti Liberation Front. They're job was to bring peace between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla without resorting to violence.

"Come on Commander," one of the girls, a blonde, said to Marta, "We're all going to go the pub for some Palma Potion. You promised you'd pay this time for a job well done remember?"

"Yes I remember," Marta said. She sighed and then spoke up, "You all go on ahead without me. I…I want some time to myself."

"Well suit yourself," another one of Marta's subordinates said. Marta sighed and went over to the bridge as her brigade left.

The Brunette girl looked out over the sea and spoke aloud to Emil, as if the Summon Spirit could hear her, "Emil, I hope you're watching. I'm going to convince the Tethe'allans to accept the people of Sylvarant without resorting to any of Daddy's harsh methods. I will bring peace to the world that you are guarding for us. I think that would also be fitting in helping to pay for my crimes. It's the least I can do." Marta looked down over the bridge. _I miss you, _she thought to herself. She turned around only to notice a pair of familiar yellow hiking boots on the stone pathway. Her vision trailed up to a figure in a black tanktop with fair skin. She saw the green eyes and the blonde hair with the little piece sticking up in the middle. "It can't be…" Marta gasped. _But it has to be._ Her eyes began to gush and she ran straight forward towards the blonde. "EMIL!" she leapt straight into his arms. She leapt at him with such force that, to remain standing, Emil pivoted his foot and the pair spun 180 degrees. He wrapped his arms around Marta.

"It's good to see you again Marta," he said softly.

"You big idiot, what took you so long?" Marta sobbed.

"It's okay Marta," Emil told her. "I'm here now. It's okay."

**TALES OF BLEACH: RETURN OF THE SAMURAI **

**~END**

* * *

**(A/N: Yup that's it. And so ends the second part of the Bleach/Symphonia saga. But do not despair my fellow readers, because as one journey ends a new one is just beginning. Coming Soon to a webpage near you will soon be TALES OF BLEACH: BLADES OF DESTINY. This will be a 3****rd**** installment of the Bleach/Symphonia saga with an all original storyline using the two series. There will be several surprises in store for all. Any and all who want a sneak preview at some things that will be brought into the 3****rd**** part of the trilogy please do not hesitate to ask. Until next time y'all. See ya :D)**


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